The place you grow up, the place you call home very often has an impact on your outlook on life, easily shaping who you can become, and this can ring true with certain styles of music too. Just take BLACK SABBATH for instance, out of the poverty of working class Birmingham in the late 60’s and early 70’s, they arguably crafted heavy metal as we know it today; using their surroundings and social standing to fuel their bleak brand of heavier blues rock…well this can also be said of today’s band; THE BALANCE FACTOR. Formed in Gary, Indiana, just 25 miles outside of Chicago, The Balance Factor (Consisting of vocalist John Yaney, guitarists Heath Reid and Jason Zeilstra, bassist Aaron Brown and drummer Jonas Doran) have for years been surrounded by a booming steel industry, that over time faded away through job loss, political corruption and racial segregation, as America looked to import cheaper steel, killing industrial cities such as Gary.

Very much like Ozzy and co before them however, they’ve put all this to good use and started writing music which leads us to the here and now; following on from 2016’s debut album “Here I Am”, they return with a brand new EP by the name of “Ouroboros”…perfectly summing up their situation and up-bringing with a symbolic gesture of creation born from destruction…artistically poignant, or are they just chasing their own tails? Let’s find out…The EP opens up with the imaginatively titled “Introduction” and to be honest; while I’m not a fan of intro’s generally I do appreciate the no-nonsense approach here. The minute and a half of TV static, broken channel reception and police sirens portraying a state of unrest and uncertainty; a level of chaos, as it transitions into lead single “Killafornia”…and god how I wish Arnold Schwarzenneger was a part of this. It’s a word tailor made for a Terminator parody that hopefully AUSTRIAN DEATH MACHINE will pick up someday. The track itself is a brilliantly rugged blend of hard rock and early 2000’s nu-metal; it's coarse production quality with a more melodic chorus combining elements that would appeal to the likes of ORGY and at points MUSHROOMHEAD; a promising start.

Follow up track “Hypochondriac” jumps straight out of that same era quite frankly with its underlying techno elements and angst-ridden style of riff-heavy rock…a little repetitive for the most part and the vocals do seem off during the chorus, but the guitar solo delivers well it has to be said, an unexpected surprise in an otherwise grating track. “Arrows In My Heart”, the longest on offer here is itself too let down by some off-putting vocals…again harking back to Orgy, they’ve opted for an almost, mechanical /  filtered vocal recording but John’s no Jay Gordon I’ll say that much, he’s too off-key too often. The sudden switch then to album highlight “Die For Another Day” is very welcome, as it opens up with an almost trad-goth / post-punk guitar tone, with layers of piano giving it extra character, coupled with the chorus’ rhythmic hooks and a more pop-based vibe, it’s incredibly catchy while still retaining the raw rock elements, before closing track “Taken By Surprise” sounds like it could have easily been taken out of the “Queen Of The Damned” soundtrack, musically having similarities to “Redeemer” in places, rounding things up on a somewhat nostalgic note.

The band themselves cite influences such as NINE INCH NAILS, MARILYN MANSON and TOOL but listening to this EP we find them to be nowhere near as profound or creatively edgy, and instead we find them more closely resembling the lesser end of the Nu-metal gene pool…I mentioned Orgy but you’ve also got the likes of ADEMA and POWERMAN 5000 layered within these songs, bands that saturated a trend as opposed to setting one. Yes it’s nice to listen back fondly to that era, but to ironically paraphrase Trent Reznor, it’s just a copy of a copy of an already ridiculed genre. Silver linings, The Balance Factor are still better than the fucking X factor…[6]

Formed in Seattle, Washington back in 1987, ALICE IN CHAINS would go on to become one of the ‘Big Four’ of the game-changer we refer to as grunge. Alongside SOUNDGARDEN, PEARL JAM and of course, NIRVANA, they pushed alternative music ever further into the mainstream and affected pop-culture in ways polar opposite to the glam rock era they oh so miserably replaced. Far more stripped back, raw and emotive; the audience could identify with them as opposed to the sheer shock value and flamboyance of glam, and what they lacked in sass, they made up for in song writing. While the movement was for the most part short lived as music and tastes evolved (And not to mention Kurt Cobain French kissing a shotgun) the more successful of these bands would continue on and 2018 see’s AIC release the brand new album “Rainier Fog”…actually only their SIXTH studio album in 30 years! Grab your umbrella’s folks…this is gonna’ be a wet one…but let’s check it out…

The album opens up with “The One You Know”…which is a blatant lie because this is the first time I’ve listened to the album and I’m not psychic! I jest…it opens up with a series of short, sharp guitar chords, repeated like some really lackluster Norman Bates parody. Seriously it just half-asses it’s way along with about as much momentum as a bout of constipation…the chorus has a decent groove and the guitar solo salvages something at least, but this a poor opener, it’s one I NOW know but also one I want to forget…moving on. The title track does at least have decent rhythm and it’s riffs do have a certain hook to them, which coupled with the tracks key changes make for a more fluid listen I’ll give it that, but what IS rainier fog? You don’t see the weather man warn you about that special rainy fog…of course it’s fucking wet otherwise it’d be smoke! It is in fact a nod to Mount Rainier, a volcano overlooking Seattle, and the aforementioned cities music scene which appropriately erupted like a volcano in the early 90’s…fitting, both then and now, as like a volcano the genre is thankfully dormant.

Further notable points on the album are sadly sparse as AIC are hardly the most energetic bunch…”Fly” opts for a far lighter approach with its melodious guitar tone and almost indie-esque post-rock feel; it’s simplicity and harmony allowing for one of the records more enjoyable listens. “Maybe” and similarly “Never Fade” do utilise far catchier choruses for the most part, the latter having a little more grit and attitude to it throughout but it hardly gets your blood pumping, and this is arguably the best track on offer here! The rest of the album sadly makes you feel not only as miserable as you do when it IS raining, but there’s a leak in your roof to boot, plus your toilet has flooded. “Drone” does exactly what it says on the tin and drones on like it’s even bored of itself…it actually musically sums up grunge in one damning swoop, utterly boring stuff this, while closing track “All I Am”, the longest track on offer, just feels completely drawn out and needlessly time consuming. I’ll tell you this much, All I am, personally, is fed up, and I’m glad this is the last track.

Now, I’ll be fair and as impartial as I can be…vocally Jerry Cantrell, as far as clean vocalists in rock and metal go, does have a distinct and iconic sound; he’s crafted the style to his own and he knows how to carry a song…likewise with the musicianship; yes there are some solid riffs utilised here and you can’t fault the band for their prowess as song writers…but there’s only so far that can go when the song’s themselves are so utterly depressing. Alice has been in chains for 30 years now and for some reason she’s still being kept alive; reasons which frankly elude me…and truth be told she’s brought nothing new or interesting to the table with this one sadly. [4]

A lot of the bands in or around Scandinavia can be described as being cut from the same cloth, though while I’m not attempting to downplay any sense of relevance these bands have in today’s overall metal society, they do have their own scene so to speak. Culturally this northern area of Europe has always had a knack of producing a steady stream of melodic death metal bands, to the point where Scandinavian Metal has become its own sub-genre or, pigeonhole for certain artists, and today we’re focusing on the area of Trondheim in Norway. An area famed for its history in performance art and expression, it houses both Norway’s oldest printed newspaper; ‘Adresseavisen’ and Trondelag Teater, the oldest theater in the whole of Scandinavia still in use today…so it’s no surprise that it’s also home to a band or two; let me introduce you to HAUNTED BY SILHOUETTES.

Formed in 2013, the melodeath outfit (Now consisting of vocalist Mathias, guitarists Stian and Per Kristian, bassist Ola and drummer Håvard) spent a lot of their formative years pushing and promoting their debut EP “The Final Mind Plague”, slowly expanding and making a name for themselves, but when the ball got rolling, the follow up EP “Wrath Of Kharon” wasn’t too far behind and now in 2018, after a slight line-up shuffle, they’ve unleashed their debut full length album; “Shortcuts To Dead Ends”…hopefully not foreseeing their own career path, let’s check it out.

The album opens up with “Exhumer” and we’re greeted with a chilling, almost foreboding piano led intro, it sounds like something straight out of a horror movie score so cold it is…before out of the shadows bursts this incredibly intense mass of brutal metal. The demonic, bowel-worrying growls sounding like they’ve been freshly dug out of a pit of misery, though the guitars carry with them their own hypnotic melody, drawing you in…add to that a brief yet harmonious guitar solo and it’s a solid intro, though it does end annoyingly abruptly. Follow up track “Vindicta” has its roots embedded more in the early days of thrash metal; from the commanding percussion and traditional riffs, musically at least it showcases the bands influence taken from old-school metal acts such as METALLICA.

The whole point of melodeath as a genre though is pretty self-explanatory as it aims to combine the crushing power of metal with more graceful instrumental elements and that’s put across on album highlight “Only You Know”…the whispered vocals add a fresh dynamic as the smooth guitars meander through your speakers, allowing the growled vocals to sound all the more imposing, channeling the likes of DARK TRANQUILITY and OPETH; an anti-ballad if you will, before “A Plea For Silence” takes some of the more pop-esque production from artists like IN FLAMES to deliver a strong, hook-laden chorus. The bulk of the album mind you IS a slight case of Ctrl C, Ctrl V, as the bludgeoning, riff-heavy metal does tend to blend and become slightly repetitious, although closing track “Into The Abyss” takes you by surprise as the relaxing guitar harmonies allow the album to unwind with a brief instrumental cool-down. Overall Haunted By Silhouettes can clearly deliver a solid death metal record and when they do incorporate melody they’ve done it really well, although those moments are short-lived, taking a back seat to the general goring going on…they’ve not quite gone down a dead end, maybe if they experiment with some clean vocals next time around they’ll find a better balance but there’s nothing really wrong with this per se…we’re not quite pleading for silence just yet. [7]

When you casually commit your time to reviewing bands, what CAN happen is that, you’re so invested in the to-do list in front of you and going through emails that, you tend to miss a certain amount of stuff going on in the scene around you, and end up missing the boat with some artists. This is exactly what happened with today’s band…THE HUNNA. The Hertfordshire based quartet (Consisting of vocalist Ryan Potter, guitarist Dan Dorney, bassist Junate Angin and drummer Jack Metcalfe) formed in 2015  but have quickly garnered a level of hype among young alternative fans, with appearances at Reading & Leeds Festival and backing from BBC Introducing, and their debut album ”100” broke into the Top 20 too…from what I understand. This year saw the band release their hotly anticipated follow up album “Dare” and it’s here they entered my ears for the first time…let’s see how it went…

Now I’ll be honest…I judged a book (Or CD sleeve in this case) by its cover and it’s safe to say I was a bit…wrong. With the classic ‘Parental Advisory’ logo, the misty, back alley at night background and perception of gang-mentality I went in to  this expecting something along the lines of like, the alternative hard-rock stylistics of EIGHTEEN VISIONS or ATREYU and maybe you could say I was expecting too much? The album opens up promisingly with some fuzzy guitar and a gradually building opening verse, before it erupts into this genuinely catchy, soaring melodic chorus. It’s got a great pop-hook and an infectious groove and though while the track does end on a more breakdown-inspired instrumental segment, this is far more up-beat and up-tempo than I was expecting, but it’s a decent start nevertheless.

This overall tone is continued on tracks like “Fever” which again is an incredibly light-hearted affair which utilises a strong indie-pop feel; more melodic guitar tones and big on chorus, in ways akin to the likes of YOU ME AT SIX in delivery, while “One” easily reflects the bands affection for artists such as KINGS OF LEON, it’s so easy to imagine this played in the same set as “Sex On Fire”, the influence is quite clear…which I guess can also be said for “Summer” too. Closing track “Y.D.W.I.W.M.” (Which stands for ‘You Don’t Want It With Me’…I was relieved to not have to play some sort of Mock The Week type guess the headline game with that let me tell you) does utilise more of that fuzzy, bass-heavy guitar tone, almost grungy and more resembling of artists such as DRENGE which makes for a grittier listen, but this is generally as heavy as it gets.

​Several of the tracks opt for a considerably lighter feel such as the FOALS inspired “Babe, Can I Call?” which is a sickly sweet love song, “Lover” is a morose anti-ballad that’s both powerful and bold while trying to tug on the heart strings, while “Mother”, arguably the weakest track on the record plods along, ending on a repetitive note, really making you hope he was put up for adoption just to end YOUR suffering. Ultimately while there are some decent pop-rock cuts on “Dare” with a fair share of infectious melodies and enjoyable choruses, I really was expecting something with a bit more substance….ideally the hunna gunna’ wunna’ dare to show more fighting spirit next time around as, though while I’m not expecting a sudden switch to anything remotely metal, their songs really could do with a bit more attitude. [6]

In the past I’ve touched upon how some professional wrestlers or, WWE Superstars, embark on musical careers outside of the squared circle; we can all agree that Chris Jericho is doing remarkably well with FOZZY (In all fairness Chris Jericho does remarkably well at everything he’s the motherfucking GOAT), while Jeff Hardy prefers the underground artistic freedom of expression with his band PEROXWHY?GEN (The presentation of that word still makes me feel like I’ve been driven through a Spanish announce table). However it’s rare when you can say that the WWE have fully invested in a character within kayfabe, to the point that they personally back a musical project to further strengthen a gimmick on screen. John Cena was given this treatment when he dropped his hip-hop album “You Can’t See Me” back in 2005 but, he was THE man, he was the one getting the push so it was to be expected…so it speaks volumes for how the company see’s ELIAS in 2018.

Elias (Real name Jeffrey Scuillo) has been part of WWE since joining NXT in 2014 and over the past couple of years has been developing his ‘drifter’ character, slowly but surely moving up to his current position on the Raw roster. More famed for his promo segments than his in-ring accomplishments, he can always be found with his guitar in hand attempting to sing to the crowd in each city visited, often in a degrading manner with a heel persona, before usually being interrupted by other superstars. The trouble is, despite being a heel in theory, his character and dry, sarcastic humour have won over the vast majority of the audience and he’s more often than not cheered, with the crowd fully aware that WWE now stands for ‘Walk With Elias’…in fact, he’s gotten so over, that WWE have backed him to the extent that they’ve allowed him to record a genuine EP, so with that… silence your cellphones, hold your applause and shut your mouths as we “Walk With Elias”…

The EP opens up with the elegantly titled “The Ballad Of Every Town I’ve Ever Been To” and it’s this track that’s essentially the foundation of Elias’ character on screen. A play on old songs such as “I’ve Been Everywhere” by GEOFF MACK made famous by LUCKY STARR, also later JOHNNY CASH, it highlight’s every town he’s had the misfortune of performing in, twisting the style to fit his heelish persona, but retaining the old acoustic, country charm. Rich in both melody and melancholy, all the while mocking each town, it makes for some classic cheap heat; wonderfully delivered. “Elias’ Words” utilises a similar approach with the country-blues inspired feel, really paying homage to the original southern style with his spoken word lyrical delivery, heavy on smarmy self-importance and portraying his character brilliantly.

“Nothing I Can’t Do” switches things up with a sombre piano ballad showcasing he’s far from a one-trick pony and has more moves than John Cena…lyrically self-aware, he displays a subtle arrogance to further that heel heat as he sings that he wrote this song on a piano, just to show you that he could, because he’s better than you, there is literally nothing he can’t do and with the exception of only tone, it’s a great comedy song, before closing track “Walk With Me” returns to the acoustic, blues style complete with husky drawl and emotive guitar solo channelling the likes of Orbison and Clapton. As far as anticipated releases go it’s safe to say that, this isn’t up there on the list, but for fans of WWE and Elias especially this is a great addition for collectors and also a superb extension of Elias’ character…it’s not ground-breaking musically but it does its job perfectly and credit to Elias’ and WWE especially for making this happen, such is their faith in him with the product. Forget walking with Elias, WWE have taken the gimmick and ran with it and it’s paying off, you just wish he was mocking your town too. [6]

That awkward moment when your girl asks you over for ‘Netflix & Chill’ but the Netflix is so good that the chill doesn’t happen…this, my friends, is what happens when you discover “Stranger Things”. Only two seasons strong, the Netflix original has garnered one of the strongest cult followings in recent TV history with its throwback 80’s tones and quaint sense of pop-culture nostalgia, combining sci-fi and low-key horror with classic teen-flick vibes, all wrapped up in homage to the likes of Stephen King. One of its main strengths is it’s incredible young cast and today we’re going to be focusing on one in particular; Finn Wolfhard. Now still only 15 years old the Canadian has shown some incredibly impressive acting chops not only with his drama and emotional skills in Stranger Things, but also in the remake of the aforementioned Stephen King’s “IT”, where he got to embrace a more comedic role and pulled it off brilliantly.

This isn’t Cinemassacre however and  we’re not here to review movies, but luckily Finn is a young lad of many talents and it’s here I’m going to point you in the direction of a band by the name of CALPURNIA, which he somehow finds the time for between film and TV! Founded in Vancouver just last year by Finn (Who’s on guitar and vocals) plus drummer Malcolm Craig, the band is completed by guitarist / vocalist Ayla Tesler-Mabe and bassist Jack Anderson, and they have already released a debut EP of original content entitled “Scout”. The question is, at their young age, do we find ourselves with another HANSON or heaven forbid, AARON CARTER? Let’s find out…

The EP opens up with a track called “Louie” and to my surprise we’ve got this restrained, stripped back, blues country type piece, but it also utilises a subtle, almost Caribbean tone; rich in its tinny-guitar and lulling ambiance. It’s an unexpectedly mature sound (Unless it’s been inspired by Spongebob) and nowhere near the energetic, colourful indie-pop I was expecting. The rawness of the track is hammered home by Finn’s vocals which here sound their weakest from a production perspective, but it only adds to the tracks character, really embracing the original feel for minimalist bluegrass. “Wasting Time” maintains the overall tone musically but here we have a little more of that energy I expected, embracing more of an early rock ‘n’ roll feel and it’s got a genuinely solid guitar solo to boot; this is much better.

“Greyhound” is a twee, melodic, up-beat track that’s disguising a certain sadness, as the story finds our character following a break up, travelling to a show alone after buying two tickets, you can feel his disappointment…the accompanying video too has a simple but effective message portraying everyone in life has a different path, but it’s all about the journey in the end as life always tends to work out eventually. Lead single “City Boy” returns to that raw, bluesy tone but has a simple but enjoyable chorus with gang vocals and happy-go-lucky vibe. “Blame” and “Waves” then round off the EP with a quirky, up-tempo indie piece and a more, relaxed, shoegaze inspired track respectively; the latter allowing Ayla to take a more prominent role vocally. Ultimately as I said previously the sound they’ve gone for is far more mature than what could have been expected and I don’t mean that with any sense of detriment…there’s zero sign of any commercial manufacturing here and it shows it’s not just a PR ploy to make Finn even more famous, this is about a BAND, not just Finn and that needs to be highlighted. They’ve written this EP the way THEY wanted it, and while it’s a little rough around the edges, if it’s something they want to stick at, working around Finn’s acting schedule, they have all the genuine potential to be a solid blues rock band; the talent is already there it just needs a little fine tuning. Let’s just hope Finn’s not eaten by a Demogorgon or some shit in Stranger Things season 3, or this project might find itself upside down too. [5]