Heaven the Axe – “Sex, Chugs & Rock’n'Roll” (2011)

Independent Release

Review by Tony Cannella

Holy crap! I had no idea what to expect from the Australian band Heaven the Axe. Heaven the Axe is a strange name for a band, but the title of their debut album “Sex, Chugs & Rock’n’ Roll” is just flat out weird. So based on those few things I wasn’t expecting a lot – shallow, I know – but man was I ever caught with my guard down and was treated to 38-minutes worth of ferocious hard rock with a punk rock intensity and attitude.

From the very first song, “Enemy” any doubts I had about Heaven the Axe were quickly laid to waste under a barrage monstrous guitar riffs and a confident swagger. The album simply does not let up for the duration and there are very few quiet moments until the obligatory ballad “Unconditional Love”. This song actually starts of as a sensitive ballad but as the song progresses it gets heavier and heavier, before ending on a sensitive note once again. Lead vocalist Phoebe Pinnock has a voice that is brimming with attitude and is a perfect complement to the hard driving music performed by the band – which is balls out, straight-ahead hard rock and roll. Highlights include: the aforementioned “Enemy”, “Electric Wire” and “So Nirvana”. The final song is the dreaded hidden track that starts at about five minutes in. I thought this practice was long gone? Anyway, the hidden bonus track is probably the weakest song on here; it is a slower song but is nowhere near the quality of the songs that came before it. With “Sex, Chugs & Rock’n'Roll”, Heaven the Axe has released a pure Rock and Roll with more than a little bite. Continue reading »

Indie Zone Reviews : Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra – “Theatre Is Evil” (2012)

Label : Cooking Vinyl/Edel

Review by Luisa Mercier

“Theatre Is Evil” is the result of how much fans support is worth. Amanda Palmer was able to record the album after raising more than one million dollars on the Kickstarter platform and the fans were also able to decide how the title should have been written. So, together with her, we find The Grand Theft Orchestra (aka Michael McQuilken, Chad Raines e Jherek Bischoff ) that give birth to an electronic, heavy, distorted sound completed by Amanda vocals. “Smile (Pictures or It Didn’t Happen)” is an example of this, followed by new single “Killing Type”, catchy but angry, harsh song accompanied by a bloody (literally) video. “Do It with a Rockstar” and the first single “Want It Back” represent the rock and funny side of the record, especially the second has distinctive ’80s influences, new wave influences that paired with Amanda voice create a perfect hook. Among my favourite there is “Trout Heart Replica”, an orchestral piece, fille with piano and atmosphere that could be taken off the previous album of Amanda. Same for “The Bed Song”. “Theatre Is Evil” is a release that shows how Amanda can offer a lot to the music scene and I am sure that it is almost impossible that fans will be unhappy with what their money resulted in.

Rating – 80/100

Tracklist

1. Meow Meow Introduces The Grand Theft Orchestra
2. .Smile (Pictures or It Didn’t Happen)
3. The Killing Type
4. Do It with a Rockstar
5. Want It Back
6. Grown Man Cry
7. Trout Heart Replica
8. A Grand Theft Intermission
9. Lost
10. Bottomfeeder
11. The Bed Song
12. Massachusetts Avenue
13. Melody Dean (featuring David J on bass)
14. Berlin
15. Olly Olly Oxen Free 

Line Up

• Amanda Palmer – Vocals, Piano
• Chad Raines – Lead Guitar, Banjo, Backing Vocals, Horn Arrangements & Programming 
• Jherek Bischoff – Bass & Backing Vocals 
• Chad Raines – Lead Guitar, Banjo, Backing Vocals, Horn Arrangements & Programming 
• Michael McQuilken – Drums, Ukulele & Backing Vocals 

Links

MySpace * Facebook * Twitter * Site

Eerie Sounds Review : Dead Can Dance – “Anastasis” (2012)

Label : Pias Recording

Review by Alessandro Narcissus 

Dead Can Dance. Does Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry’s iconic musical creature really need an introduction? Well, perhaps it does, as many of the people who may love their music or any of the genres that originated from their wake were barely kids or not even born during the heyday of one of the most established and respected acts of the Ethereal scene. Dead Can Dance were formed by partners Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry in Melbourne, Australia, in 1981. Soon they moved to London, when they got signed by an alternative label and released an EP and their debut full length to great critical acclaim. In the following two decades, not only did Dead Can Dance become a legend in the Ethereal scene releasing a total of seven full-lengths which are nowadays widely regarded as classics, one studio EP, an official live album, an incalculable amount of b-sided and live-only tracks, achieving fame both in Europe and in the Unites States and having several songs featured in movie soundtracks, but they also indirectly contributed to the birth of the Gothic Metal genre itself through the early work of The Gathering, who openly cited them among their greatest influences. Now, after a brief reunion tour in 2005 and the release of five live EPs as an appetiser in the past months, Gerrard and Perry finally felt ready to get back to writing together new music for Dead Can Dance, and subsequently released their come-back full length, “Anastasis” – which fittingly means “rebirth” – after sixteen years from their previous studio album. Now, let’s get it clear from the beginning: you can put perfection into music, but putting it into words in a review is a much tougher work. No review will ever live up to the true artistic value of “Anastasis”, as this album is nothing short of the high standards of any past Dead Can Dance “classic” release. It’s a highly inspired and emotional album, a collection of eight diverse and outstanding tracks that make up an incredible experience when listened together as a whole. Generally speaking, the album is incredibly sophisticated, even if compared to the band’s past recordings. It remains true and coherent to their past and priceless heritage drawing widely from it, but is a contemporary work which gives room to the artistic maturity Gerrard and Perry achieved while working separately. Balance is the keyword of this recording: nothing is overdone and every single note of each instrument is put in the right place for the right reason, to provide an experience that will delight both the artistic and sensitive side of the listener. Indeed, what immediately catches the ear is the sense of general harmony and unity of the record, in which each track has its own individuality but, at the same time, works perfectly as a piece of a greater experience. The orchestra – a typically western element – may be identified as the guiding thread of the oriental-sounding album. There are more orchestral parts than in the past and they are used differently in that the ensemble plays an active role in the most exotic soundscapes: instead of only providing a lush background for the ethnic instruments, it often accompanies them and plays along on the oriental or tribal melodies. Ideally, this interpretation of southern and eastern sounds with typical western instruments epitomises the idea of mingling different cultural influences into something new, which has always been the main standpoint of Dead Can Dance and is done at its finest in this album. This sense of harmony is also given by the balance between the two composers’ efforts. Even in this, “Anastasis” sounds much more cohesive than most the past Dead Can Dance albums, in particular those released after Gerrard and Perry’s domestic break up – namely “Into The Labyrinth” (1993), “Spiritchaser” (1996), and most notably their live effort “Towards The Within” (1994), in which their stylistic differences were most evident and at times even clashing. Whilst Gerrard’s and Perry’s own, peculiar approaches to writing music for their creature is still recognizable and the most familiar listeners can guess from the first notes of each song who’s going to sing, the passage from Perry’s trademark art-rock songwriting and Gerrard’s ethnic fascinations is much smoother than in the past, enhancing the sense of cohesion and harmony of the record as a whole. Indeed, the soundscapes evoked by the album can be perceived as the narration of a conceptual journey throughout the Mediterranean basin: the listener gets to ideally meet different cultures within the same voyage, each one adding it’s peculiar flavour to a bigger, all-compassing experience which is – or, if you will, being a piece of one, big colourful mosaic. The orchestra is the narrator who filters the experiences, and the other instruments and styles are the characters met during the journey we’re told about. In this sense, the title “Anastasis” does not only refer to the band’s rebirth after a 16-year split, but also to a more spiritual kind of rebirth the listener would experience through an enriching journey in the cradle of our culture. It’s really hard to name some highlights from the album without ending up with a detailed and exhaustive track-by-track review, as each song is spectacular in its way. But how not to mention, for instance, “Amnesia”, chosen as the promotional single out the album, which perfectly represents the blending of exotic rhythms with Perry’s typically western songwriting? Or Gerrard’s remarkable performance in the most ethnic tracks such as “Anabasis”, “Agape” or “Kiko”, which showcase the aforementioned union of traditional instruments and tribal percussions with the orchestra, as a background for Gerrard’s trademark vocalizations and folkloric techniques? “Children of the Sun” and “All In Good Time” represent the perfect opening and closing tracks respectively, the former being some kind of “rite of passage” somehow reminiscent of past songs (in particular Perry’s from “Aion”) reworked in the current, mature style of the duo, and the latter providing a relaxing outro as remarkable as “How Fortunate the Man With None” from “Into the Labyrinth”. And finally, the two absolute masterpieces of the album, “Opium” and “Return of the She-King”. The first is a highly emotional blend of ethnic rhythm patterns with breath-taking string melodies and Perry’s melancholic lyrics and vocals bound to put a tear in many listener’s eyes; the second is a wonderful, solemn track with distinct influences from the British Isles – at times it almost sounds as if a traditional Irish melody were played by Scottish bagpipes – in which Gerrard’s glossolalia vocals unite with Perry’s in what can be considered as the two vocalist’s best duet ever. “Anastasis” is clearly not just a typical come-back album that is made just to exploit the fans’ nostalgia or the hype for an iconic band’s reunion. It clearly shows Gerrard and Perry’s need to go back to their roots and write music together, and to do so at the right time and without a hurry, resulting in a fresh and genuine work, not at all anachronistic. It’s a perfect introduction for the new generations to the priceless work of this duo, as well as the perfect reward fans could hope for after 16 years of silence. “All in Good Time”, they say, and this is undoubtfully the good time and best way for Dead Can Dance to come back.

Rating – 100/100

Tracklist

1. Children of the Sun
2. Anabasis
3. Agape
4. Amnesia
5. Kiko
6. Opium
7. Return of the She-King
8. All in Good Time

Line Up

• Lisa Gerrard
• Brendan Perry

Links

Facebook * Twitter * Site

Temujin – “Demons” SINGLE (2011)

Label : BlueFreya Media

Review by Tony Cannella

Australia’s Gothic Metal duo Temujin released their debut effort “1000 Tears” in 2008. Now, three years later they have returned with a brand-new single. The song is called “Demons” and coming off the positive impression that their debut left on me, I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into this one. “Demons” is the lone track on the single, but it is a pretty good track with haunting vocals performed by Kelly and a simply infectious melody that dominates the four minute song. It is difficult to tell where a band is headed musically based on one song, but if “Demons” is indicative of where Temujin are headed than fans of their debut will not be disappointed.

Rating – 88/100

Tracklist

1. Demons

Line Up

• Kelly Lean – Vocals & Keyboards
• Karl Lean – Guitars, Bass & Drums

Links

MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Twitter * Site

Divine Ascension – “As the Truth Appears” (2011)

Label : Nightmare Records

Review by Tony Cannella

The debut album from the Australian power metal outfit Divine Ascension, “As the Truth Appears”, is a high energy album that certainly gives many established power metal bands a run for their money. Divine Ascension features the impressive, dynamic and soaring vocals of Jennifer Borg. The band first formed in 2007 and released a three song demo that same year. Two of those songs “Garden of Evil” and “Vision Divine” can now be heard on their debut. Power metal has become an increasingly crowded sun-genre in metal with female and male fronted bands alike battling for exposure. Some bands make the grade, some don’t. Musically, Divine Ascension doesn’t really have anything new to bring to the genre, which is okay, because everything has been done anyway. Instead the band brings a majestic, passionate approach to their music, this isn’t just cookie cutter power metal, there is definitely something substantial within this 10-song 50-minute debut. Songs like the opener “Answers” (which the band also filmed a video for), “Visionary” and “In My Mind” are all played with great precision and Jennifer’s vocals had me awestruck. The songs all have an undeniable melodicism to them and also feature touches of progressive metal here-and-there. “Vision Divine”, the huge sounding “Guided by Osiris” and the heavy, straight-forward approach of “One Last Caress” keep the album going in a powerful direction. Divine Ascension is quite skilled at writing some great songs as “Garden of Evil” and “Another Battlefield” will attest to. Divine Ascension is an excellent band with a lot of promise. The band members each play their parts with great meticulousness and that, combined with the amazing vocals of Jennifer Borg is what will surely take Divine Ascension and “As the Truth Appears” to the next level in the realm of power metal.

Rating – 81/100

Tracklist

1. Answers
2. Visionary
3. In My Mind
4. Vision Divine
5. Guided by Osiris
6. One Last Caress
7. Garden of Evil
8. Another Battlefield
9. Civilization
10. Unscathed

Line Up

• Jennifer Borg – Vocals
• Karl Szulik – Guitars
• Robb Inglis – Guitars
• David Van Pelt – Keyboards
• Simon Mahoney – Bass
• Luke Wenczel – Drums

Links

MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Twitter * Site