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Jackass: A Music Retrospective

24/4/2022

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Hello I’m Gavin Griffiths, and welcome to my blog...certain generations, have their own favoured and, primarily heartfelt, nostalgic pieces of pop-culture that, they fondly look back on, with a happy tear in their eye, and the very fondest of memories. Sure, I was born in 89’ (Age reveal right there) and remember plenty of things like the Power Rangers taking over the world, the original Pokémon taking over the world, the SPICE GIRLS phenomenon taking over the world, Pinky & The Brain WANTING to take over the world, but nothing gripped me more as a young teen and, quite truthfully, prospectless delinquent, than JACKASS. 

When it first hit screens in 2000 on
MTV, I was HOOKED. Sure, it was ridiculous watching Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O et al putting themselves through what they did, and let's be quite honest here, a LOT of us did the same, ignoring those “professional warnings” (I’m not joking when I say that, I should be dead right now, not writing this), but it was that on-screen friendship, that level of banter and comradery, that had us all cringing, crying, and laughing our asses off, often simultaneously.  

While the stunts themselves are memorable, and oh boy there are so many to pick from, we often forget, or, overlook the soundtracks; the songs that remind us of that one particular time we laughed, while someone nearly died. Now in 2022, as the guys
(Along with some fresh cast members) have released the franchises fourth movie instalment; “Jackass Forever”, which is out on Blu-Ray now, and with “Jackass 4.5” hitting Netflix next month, let’s look at the music that enhances the stupidity, and take a deep dive into some of the most memorable musical moments in Jackass history. 

Now, for the sake of this piece not being biblical in length, we’ll be focusing on the movies, but if there’s one song you HAVE to include, it’s “Corona” by MINUTEMEN. Sure, it may have been released back in 1984, with its own intended purposes, and meanings to the early punk-rockers, but when you hear those opening chords, you just picture that skull and crutches logo hitting the black screen, and you just KNOW you are in for a good time. The up-beat, jovial tones of the song enhance the light-hearted tomfoolery of the prank-loving cast, and as a bouncy piece of music, with it’s almost oompah-esque level of frivolity, it’s perfect for the laugh-along nature of the show. It resurrected an entire band and became an anthem for modern day idiots in one swoop. You simply HAVE to smile, when you hear this song come on, it’s an unwritten law. 

​Before we get into some specifics there are some famous stand-out, and reoccurring tracks that we have to applaud, and the first of those, has to be the
“Party Boy” theme. It’s no more, than a simple piece of retro, synth-driven funky dance music, but as SOON as you hear those bass-driven keys pulse through your speakers, you just KNOW, that someone, from somewhere, is going to strip down to a shiny silver thong, and dance crotch-first into your face. Again, the very thought of Chris Pontius getting to do his favourite thing in the world; strip, to dance semi-naked for some unsuspecting victim, will never not be hilarious. I don’t care if you’re a Japanese fortune teller or Sami Zayn at WWE’s WrestleMania...you aren’t safe from Party Boy! 
We can’t NOT mention, ROGER ALAN WADE. Johnny Knoxville’s cousin and blues country icon, he probably IS mostly famous for his contribution to Jackass in wider circles, but his penchant for his heart-on-his-sleeve lyricism, was fine-tuned to perfection on this mellow masterpiece; “If You’re Gonna Be Dumb You Gotta Be Tough”. It carries with it the same light-hearted tone as the title theme, but lyrically it just fits PERFECTLY. It makes light of the absurdity and insanity, and while a relaxed acoustic piece, it only enhances the fun. It’s one of those songs that, like with the intro, simply brings a happy tear to your eye as you know EXACTLY where this comes from, what it represents. Country music is rarely considered anthemic, but in its own right this is the anthem of idiots worldwide. 

​So much so in fact, it’s become sort of, a secondary Jackass anthem, having appeared in all of the movies in some capacity. In
"Jackass Number Two", we had a version by SMUT PEDDLERS, which brought a far more intense, raw, punk-rock tone to the track, which was fitting with the film. While the song went up a level, so did the cast, and so did the stunts, and it was just next level brilliance in its own right. Everyone enjoys a good number two. “Jackass 3D” saw YEAH YEAH YEAHS front-woman KAREN-O wrap her vocals around another fresh cover, which, DID return to a more country/acoustic, almost banjo vibe, as we’d come full circle, and this was almost closure for the team. There was a poignancy to the track, as it was here, that we’d thought we’d seen the last of the Jackass crew on the big screen, or any screen, and it was sweet. This is something that ties us into the next three tracks...bear with me while I get a bit weepy. 
 In terms of closure, few tracks hit home more emotionally than “Memories” by WEEZER, from “Jackass 3D”. Those closing credits ten years ago, with the old-school footage, the apropos lyrical reflection on the cast and crews' memories...despite being a genuinely fun song, it was a beautifully sad song at the very same time. We grew up with the crew, their antics, and it felt like closure, and memories were all we would have of this brilliantly insane decade. Sadly, memories would become TOO meaningful, as Ryan Dunn, one of the most beloved cast members, tragically passed away in a car accident not too long after the third film came out. While the song “Memories” brought happy tears to our eyes, Roger Alan Wade returned to really turn on the water works, with his song “The Light Outlives The Star”, and while not part of the Jackass movie continuity, from a soundtrack point of view, it HAS to be included. RIP Ryan, we miss you and we love you, you Random Hero you. 

This brings us back to “Jackass Forever”, and ten years in the making, they made sure we felt all of the feels. JOHNNY CASH played us into the trailer with “We’ll Meet Again” and we couldn’t WAIT for the latest instalment...the quaint qualities of the track brought back all of the nostalgia, the laughs, the good times, and those memories, and we knew the new film was going to go HARD. Harder than the man in black, drugged up playing a prison concert. Harder than Chris Pontius’ Godzilla penis...spoiler alert. “If You’re Gonna Be Dumb...” gets another nostalgic, acoustic cover this time courtesy of DJ PAUL and YELAWOLF but it incorporates a more modern, trap/hip-hop vibe and goes down its own lyrical route, breathing fresh life into the track a decade on. It brings together a new generation, a new cast, a new audience, and it’s quirky. 

Elsewhere, every song, has different connections to different fans, depending on their own personal Jackass preference. Very easily, we could talk about CKY and the connection with Bam, as he merged his original footage into the original series, and got his brothers band a full-on cult-like following. We all remember “69 Quite Bitter Beings” or, “Bernadette Nerr”, and of course, “Flesh Into Gear” from the first movie...and we can’t ignore “Afterworld” from “Jackass 3D”. CKY goes hand-in-hand with Jackass, but they are one of the most underrated bands on the planet. ANDREW WK can’t be left out with his party-hard anthem “We Want Fun”. Seeing the Jackass guys on Kerrang! in this music video was just amazing! 

​These are all key songs though in marketing, promotion, but what tracks stand out to our favourite stunts? While I could be here all day laughing to myself about the stupidest shit imaginable, what truly stands out? Ok the new movie has yet to sink into to our pop-culture conscious but, while these things take repeated views to really hammer home their genius, we can easily fondly remember the classics. The first movie has
“Let’s Get Fucked Up” from the golf cart scenes...perfectly delivered by the SMUT PEDDLERS as Knoxville gets knocked out. SLAYER provide “Angel Of Death” for the first ever movie stunt, the “Rent-A-Car Derby”...the SAHARA HOTNIGHTS soundtrack Ryan Dunn getting the shit kicked out of him by a girl, and how can we ignore SIR MIX-A-LOT with “Baby Got Back”?
Number two got a little more cultured, including a variety of artists, ranging from rap group THREE 6 MAFIA who happily watched Dave England eat dry horse shit...to the ELVIS PRESLEY classic “A Little Less Conversation” enhancing the “Beehive Limo”...we had Scandinavian leather rockers TURBONEGRO play “The Gauntlet” via “All My Friends Are Dead”, while Chris Pontius himself delivered a track called “Karazy” which was an unofficial sequel to “Sand Vagina”.  

​TWSITED SISTER
aided in the intro to “Jackass 3D” with “The Kids Are Back”, which was poignant too in the grand scheme of things, while we had blistering numbers by SASSAFRAS and a returning Roger Alan Wade with “Party In My Pants” ...before the ten-year hiatus, and ultimately, “Jackass Forever”, provided us with a fresh bunch of artists. Fans of Jackass will have their favourite cast-members, their favourite stunts and their favourite songs from the series, but collectively, we have to appreciate the thought and consideration that’s gone into these compilations. Sure, we’ve all made stunt clips, skating videos, skits, inspired by the Jackass crew, hell, I’ve been lucky enough to meet Steve-O and Bam, but we all take different memories from the stunts, the scenes, and the songs.
 We are blessed to live in a world where Jackass not only exists, but is applauded. It is escapism in the grandest form, it is relief from all of our own pain, suffering and misery, it is therapy for those less fortunate, and for that, and I will fucking name you...Jeff, Spike, Dimitry, Johnny, Bam, Steve-O, Ryan, Chris, Preston, Weeman, Rachel, Poopies, Ehren, Jasper, Zach, Eric, Dave, Raab, Rake, DiCamillo, Jess, April, Phill, Novak, Kosick, Loomis, Lance, Sean, everyone...THANKYOU. Everyone involved who ever made my own up-bringing a better place; THANKYOU...these soundtracks, as well as these films, fuelled a generation, and I, as well as many other people around the world, wouldn’t be the same without Jackass. Am I dumb? Yes. Am I tough? You bet your ass I’m tough...and I have these misfits to thank for it. We all do. Now, in the words of those Smut Peddlers...let’s get fucked up. #JackassForever. 

Remember, Jackass Forever is available RIGHT NOW on Blu-Ray, and other downloadable media type things, also the unseen footage will be included in Jackass 4.5, which will be on Netflix on May 20th. Merchandise is available online, and you can follow all of your favourite Jackass stars on social media. Warning...the stunts that you may or may not have remembered in this nostalgic commemorative write-up were performed by professionals. Neither you nor your dumb buddies should attempt any of the things that this article has fondly reminisced on your behalf, because I’m not going to court because you’re a fucking idiot. Seriously I’m hammering that point home right now I know what the internet is like. Actually, scrap that, I’m not a hypocrite, just don’t come crying to me when you’ve got a toy car up your ass, getting tossed by a bull, eating a vomlette, blindfolded, in an exploding portable toilet. If it DOES happen though, film it for fuck's sake, don’t waste good footage.  

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JACKASS
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Electric Six - "Streets Of Gold"

23/11/2021

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Most bands, however successful, are just as partial to a cheeky cover track, as you and the lads are partial to a cheeky Nando’s. Mind you, like Nando’s own scale of spicy sauces, some covers might hit the spot, some will make you want to shit ON the spot. Just recently I applauded DAVE GAHAN’s hauntingly beautiful cover of METALLICA’s “Nothing Else Matters”...I will never NOT be in love with HIM’s cover of “Wicked Game”...and JOHNNY CASH’s “Hurt” is simply tear-jerking...in a good way.  

On the flip side then, you have, say... MARILYN MANSON, who’s covers mostly sound like the rejected pile, from the already rejected pile, from BTEC talent show auditions from Wheretheactualfuckistan, that weren’t even so bad they were amusing. Sweet dreams are in fact made, when you are NOT butchering the EURYTHMICS thank you Mazza. 

This then brings us to ELECTRIC SIX. The Detroit alt./experimental rockers, while renowned for their 2003 hits “Gay Bar” and “Danger! High Voltage”, are recording and touring machines. Dick Valentine and co almost never stop, especially Dick...Dick just keeps on going...*Cough* excuse me. Honestly though, they’re in double digits with their albums and almost live on the road.  

While they throw a cover of THE OSMONDS hit “Crazy Horses” into the mix occasionally, their only real cover of any notoriety came when they released QUEEN’s classic “Radio Gaga”, which stirred up some mild controversy...other than that, they’re as original as they come. So, it’s surprising then, that 2021 finds the dance commanders releasing “Streets Of Gold” via Cleopatra Records...an entire album’s worth of covers! The trouble is with Electric Six...what the hell can we expect? Let’s find out... 

The album opens up with a version of “Don’t Change”, which was originally a 1982 hit for Australian rockers INXS...and musically it’s kept somewhat loyal to the original. It’s got the synth driven opening and characteristics, and remains upbeat; it’s a fun little track 40 years on, though Dick’s own vocal twang gives the track a slightly different feel. It’s the kind of track you can easily see the band having fun with live, and it’s a fairly decent start. Next up, we have a cut from one ROKY ERIKSON...and last time we crossed paths with him, it was courtesy of GHOST covering “If You Have Ghosts”, which was in fact superb. Here, we have a take on his 1981 effort “Click Your Fingers Applauding The Play”, and the rough-edged psychedelic-tinged, classic rock frankly suits Electric Six perfectly. The soft gallop of the guitar and especially the lyrical structure benefit Dick’s own style, and a cover such as this simply makes sense. Even if the high notes are questionable...like, Barry Gibb stepping on Lego... 

For a band as eccentric as Electric Six, it's easy to assume there must be some properly deranged, obscure cuts here making up this compilation of covers, but to be fair they’ve included some big names. ALICE COOPER gets a nod with a cover of “No More Mr. Nice Guy” and again, tonally, it’s fairly true to the original instrumentally. It retains a classic, semi-glam rock aesthetic and the simplicity of the track enables the band to just, have fun performing a track they enjoy. We get a track from KISS; “Strutter”...and I just want it to be known, they are the ultimate catfish band. You look at Kiss, and expect something like, VENOM...something hellish and visceral, but then you remember only Gene Simmons looks demonic, the others just look like a bunch of face painted spandex-clad twats. I digress, this version is better. Enough said. 

Some questions DO have to be asked though...as we get Dick Valentine wrapping his vocals around “Little Lies” by FLEETWOOD MAC, which is arguably one of the sweetest songs ever written. There are soft vocal harmonies with delicate synths layered throughout, giving an almost childlike innocence, that are balanced by some adequate guitar surges through the chorus, but Dick hasn’t got the voice to REALLY pull this off. Sure, it’s fun, and you can’t not enjoy this song, but sadly this isn’t a patch on the original. Our lead single then...”Yah Mo B There”...by JAMES INGRAM sounds like, the most, recherché of all possible options given the aforementioned, but it works! The classic, synth driven, funk-led R’n’B leans heavily towards Electric Six’s general output. A tad annoying, don’t get me wrong, but it works. 

Overall, this collection of tracks is equally interesting as it is enjoyable. There are certain tracks that the band have adapted well, and some that don’t quite sit right with their established sound, but it makes for an adventure as much as it does a listen. It gives you more of an idea of where Electric Six formed; as the funky, jazz-fuelled, glam rock is a style they’ve been fine tuning and owning since those days of “Fire” etc. More of a bonus treat for the long-term die-hards than anything else; it’s got its moments but there are several more important records to start with if you are new to Electric Six. Either way, the band continue life on the road in the UK this December, and, yeah...yah mo B there...[5] 

WWW.ELECTRICSIX.COM
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Eurovision 2020: Nil Pois

18/5/2020

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Some of you may be thinking, Gav…how many reviews can you shoehorn references to Covid-19 into? Well…my friend, as it happens, as many as I want. You see while a lot of you are crying over 2020 festival season being buggered into next year, I’ve got my own agenda. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy festival experiences, but I am instead honestly quite reclusive, so one of the things I personally look forward to every year is the EUROVISION SONG CONTEST.

Long-time readers will know I usually cover the show in some way shape or form, be it a run-down of finalists, covering past winner’s releases, or even just live-Tweeting the event…this year, I can’t enjoy this. This year I couldn’t look forward to sitting in front of my TV on the rare occasion I do, to watch Graham Norton sarcastically bury a plethora of countries. This year I couldn’t respectfully raise a glass of Bailey’s to Sir Terry Wogan during song 9, (Who am I kidding it’s a bottle of Jack). This year I couldn’t even get annoyed by the very political voting system I expect each and every fucking year as if it’s some shocking conspiracy. Covid-19 brought an end to all of that…and for that…I despise you, even though you’ve given me two months off work paid. 1st world problems, yes, but still. Alas…what I CAN do at least is channel my inner Jim Bowen, and have a look at who could have won, as Eurovision still at least released the 41-track CD of each countries entry. With that said…Good Evening Rotterdam! Open up, and let’s shine a light on the performers to see who gets 12 points….

​I’m going to preface this by stating that no I am NOT going to be analysing every one of the 41 entries as frankly I don’t even think lockdown is long enough for me to do that, but I will mull over my personal highlights, and as usual, the Eurovision double-album does things alphabetically, so we start with Albania. Their entry is “Fall From The Sky”, performed by ARILENA ARA and it’s one of two primary Eurovision tropes…heartfelt ballad, or fucking bonkers. This one falls into ballad category and as an opening track it’s a fairly safe one. The light piano allowing Arilena’s emotive, powerful vocals to really shine and there’s a dramatic intensity to this performance; a wonderful start. If you enjoyed that ballad however, hold on to that thought because you’re going to get sick of them over the next say, I don’t know… album? 

Armenia’s entry “Chains On You” by ATHENA MANOUKAIN tries to modernise things with some middle-eastern inspired trap and mumble rap…as far as the genre goes it’s fine, it’s the kind of thing you’d find Charlie Sloth spinning, but it’s not for me. Australia are still participating even though their initial anniversary guest spot was a few years ago now, and their entry “Don’t Break Me”, performed by MONTAIGNE is…another pop ballad. Granted the modern production and bold yet husky vocals find her somewhere between say, DUA LIPA and SIA in some ways, and it’s not bad. Onion Bhaji are up next…sorry, no, Azerbaijan are up next with “Cleopatra” performed by EFENDI and we get more middle-eastern / Egyptian musical influence, before leading into more Western pop stylistics…up until the part where they start summoning demons and shit…honestly that’s what it sounds like. Seriously, I thought my desk was going to start floating or my eyeballs were going to bleed!

Let’s see what else we have here…Belgium’s entry “Release Me” by HOOVERPHONIC in its own ways sounds like a BTEC version of BILLIE EILISH doing a Bond Theme…that’s the best and only way of describing that, you’re going to have to get way off of my back about that one. Skipping ahead now but keeping a colour scheme it’s Germany who have the next real highlight with the track “Violent Thing” by BEN DOLIC. Sadly the track is about as violent as two kittens having a pillow fight…I was expecting this year’s rock entry or something but we get another up-tempo pop offering. It’s got some brass elements and a bit of funk, and an impressive high note, resulting in quite a catchy little track, but it’s not what I was hoping for. Speaking of getting my hopes up, I ALWAYS look for Finland’s entry since LORDI won it in 2006, and this year, their entry “Looking Back” by AKSEL was…meh. It’s a pleasant indie-pop piece with ample melody, nothing like Lordi, or even SAARA AALTO from 2018; disappointing this one I’m afraid, you let me down Finland.
Next up, we have the United Kingdom…and as a Welshman, you might think I’m going to be biased here, that I’m going to sing praises to our entry as if they’re God’s gift to mainstream music…well I can assure you, that you are wrong. JAMES NEWMAN is our entry for this year with the track “My Last Breath” and I would sooner give up my last breath than have this song win the competition, despite it making things logistically easier for me to attend in 2021. Another copy and paste type of emotional male-led pop song akin to anyone from JAMES ARTHUR or SAM SMITH or any generic bollocks like that…it’s just so bloody boring! Georgia on the other hand, do somewhat peak my interest…”Take Me As I Am” by TORNIKE KIPIANI is, admittedly, lyrically fucking awful, let me make that clear, but the deep, electronic tinged moody indie tones easily mirror the styles and sounds of say, IMAGINE DRAGONS or AWOLATION etc, and this is arguably as dark as things get this year.

Skipping eagerly ahead now as we’re still only about half way here, we get Ireland and honestly…this would have been a contender for the competitions winner to break their own record, securing eight competition victories. “Story Of My Life” by LESLEY ROY gives off some serious KATY PERRY vibes…it’s a bouncy, light-hearted absolute banger of a pop anthem. Sure there’s repetition, a little instrumental monotony and some childish qualities but this is the kind of track you’d understand being all over commercial radio this Summer time…never mind the political voting, Covid-19 potentially robbed Ireland of this year’s win! Do they have any contenders however? Why in fact yes they do, and there is some STRONG competition from Iceland, and who some may say are favourites to win; DAðI FREYR with the song “Think About Things”. A synth-rich, full on disco-funk driven indie track…it is so simple in execution with the most basic of hooks, so much groove in so little effort, this is superb.
Jumping forward then we have THE ROOP with their entry “On Fire” for Lithuania…and it’s another basic pop track with pulsing electronic elements, dance-pop qualities with all of the synth laden hooks, it’s not as good as past winners such as MÅNS ZELMERLÖW for example but it’s along the same vein and personally I enjoy this, it’s arguably my favourite, despite some questionable vocals in places…and the video is as stated above; fucking bonkers. The rest of the album sadly doesn’t really throw up many particular highlights or memorable tracks, other than “Uno” by LITTLE BIG representing Russia. The “Skibidi” outfit had my attention going into the competition don’t get me wrong, but they’ve done better. Granted they’ve likely been heavily censored but still! SKIBIDI WA-PA-POW! The video does make me laugh mind…it’s all in the knees fam.

Romania come in with the track “Alcohol You” and I thought I was being offered a pint in broken English to be honest, so imagine my disappointment when ROXEN starts warbling her moody, sultry vocals…a slow, albeit grandiose track , though KORPIKLAANI drink better to be fair. Serbia rock up then with “Hasta La Vista” and the name alone has me hooked…have HURRICANE been sent from the future by Sky Net to secure Eurovision victory? In short…no…imagine someone installed LimeWire on the T-800 and the sheer amount of internet aids rendered it out of order. I’ll be very surprised if you’ll be back. Eventually then, and finally, we find ourselves at Ukraine, listening to “Solovey” by GO_A, and luckily, we conclude the album on an unorthodox yet enjoyable note. The traditional native tones of the vocal performance and woodwind elements coupled with a solid dance-pop aesthetic allow for a genuinely soothing and fun listen…I mean I haven’t got a fucking clue what they are saying but I like it!

After all of that, it really is heart-breaking to know that, given Eurovision’s six-decade legacy and tradition, none of the above entries will be able to represent their respective nations and try to put themselves in the history books. Granted some of these songs work better as a stage performance with character and gimmicks as opposed to straight up audio content, but that doesn’t detract what would have been an entertaining evening of live entertainment and multicultural acceptance of diversity. I know I rant and roast but I honestly enjoy the Eurovision Song Contest…I look forward to it every year, and hopefully it comes back all guns blazing in 2021. Where…who knows…no country has ever done two in a row from winning, so will Holland get to host again on a technicality? We can only wait and see…until then, Europe, you’re a beautiful bunch of bastards, for the record, I didn’t vote for Brexit I voted remain…and as far as Covid-19 goes…nil pois.
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Nightmares From The Discotheque - "Real Things To Scare Your Children"

20/10/2019

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Few things in this world entertain me more than the idea of terrifying little children. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t belong on a register before you all jump the gun here, (I have three names, none of which are Jimmy and/or Saville) but I’m talking about when kids get legitimately scared. You’ve all seen little YouTube videos or Vines etc., where kids get startled by something or, if a parent pranks them in scary mask or whatever, and they end up bursting out crying and running away in some sort of mild panic attack, squealing and screaming…that shits funny! Well today’s band takes a more philosophical look at that entire concept; let’s catch up with NIGHTMARES FROM THE DISCOTHEQUE.

Formerly going by the moniker of MASSIVE HORSE, I discovered the Cardiff based duo of Canz Rickman and Rick Schaple many moons ago when they supported firm favourites of mine ELECTRIC SIX at a show in the Welsh capital, and I’ve been an admirer ever since. Their penchant for comedic song writing based on social commentary is genuinely entertaining, and they’ve managed to get the balance between humour and musical integrity spot on. I often reference STEEL PANTHER in these situations, where the joke and gimmick has truly worn thin, but NFTD continue to be both inspired and creative.

Regardless of whichever name they go by however, they’ve proven in the past that they can mix horror and comedy very well indeed. Whether it’s the brilliantly catchy vampire parody “She Only Comes Out At Night”, or the sexually haunting “Phantom Pregnancy”, they do enjoy dabbling in the darker aspects of entertainment, and their new track backs that up wonderfully; “Real Things To Scare Your Children”. Yes their new Halloween track see’s the pair in character, cos-playing as ‘Robert Smyth’ and ‘Marilyn Maanson’ in brilliantly tongue-in-cheek fashion, as they take us on a tour of Marilyn’s Mansion in the accompanying music video, where we aren’t subject to the hauntings of ghosts and monsters, but real life adult problems such as taxes, declined credit card payments, running out of toilet paper and all manner of horrifying scenarios. If you appreciate a spot of dark humour and want to inject a little fun into this year’s Halloween party playlist, you can find the track on Apple Music, iTunes and Spotify, the links to which are on the NFTD Facebook profile, linked below. Check out the video, and leave a comment sharing what scares YOU…personally in a sense of twisted irony, I’m afraid of horses, so I’m glad they dropped the Massive Horse name, I mean, normal sized horses are bad enough! FUCK! THAT!

CHECK OUT NFTD ON FACEBOOK
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The Scabby Ghouls - "The Scabby Ghouls"

10/4/2019

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Many reviews and, not just ones I’ve shared here, highlight some bands and genres by the evolution of certain scenes for example, like a specific style in or around a localised area of the world; such as the thrash metal boom of the Bay Area, San Francisco, or say, the grime movement in London…but if I were to ask you to name me the first band that comes to mind when you think about Omaha, Nebraska…the majority of you are going be double checking where the fuck Omaha even is let alone have quick fire knowledge of it’s clearly thriving music scene!

Don’t get me wrong, Omaha’s got its fair share of famous names and faces, ranging from Marlon Brando to Fred Astaire but it’s not got a rich history in alternative rock music by any means. Sure there are some bands you MAY have heard of at some point, such as 311, THE FAINT or THROUGH FIRE, but they’re hardly household names now are they? Well, to be perfectly honest, neither are today’s band…not by a long shot. Allow me to introduce to you, THE SCABBY GHOULS.

A relatively new outfit; the four-piece (Consisting of vocalist/guitarist Denise Hazard, lead guitarist Louie Hazard, bassist Alex Steffens and drummer Nathan Christensen) specialise in all-things that are horror punk, and while they’ve already supported the likes of DOYLE, their style is more akin to the cheesy entertainment of classic B-Movie horror, as opposed to the more serious sound of say THE MISFITS or early AFI. 2019 finds them releasing their debut self-titled mini-album…so let’s pick at this scab and see what oozes out of it shall we?

We open up with “Body Surfin’” and we’re immediately met with some deep bass-driven rock with an initially spoken word approach, before the frenetic punk aesthetics kick in. It goes from a weird combination of BOBBY PICKETT and THE B-52’s into some modern SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES type of darkened proto-punk amalgamation. The title track backs this up further especially with the vocal performance during the near spoken-word chorus, delivering that classic spooky vibrato, though instrumentally heavier in places allowing for more of a Misfits influence to shine through.

Speaking of musical influences, a band that gets nowhere near enough credit in female punk rock is TSUNAMI BOMB and there are moments of their influence dotted throughout this album, especially their earlier works such as “The Invasion From Within” EP; Emily Whitehurst (Or Agent M as she was known) deserves more recognition as a voice in modern punk rock, and there are subtle nods to her sprinkled over this record.

As is expected with this genre this is all over and done with in a relatively short period of time, with the seven tracks presented here clocking in at just under twenty minutes, but they’ve left some gems for last it has to be said. “Road Ragin’” is a wonderfully relatable, up-tempo slab of fun, simple punk rock. The typically common / everyday situations of rushing around early in the morning, late to be where you need to be, can’t find your keys, can’t find your right clothes, hampered by slow elderly drivers; it’s a wonderfully basic concept but delivered with the right balance of frustration and comedic charm, before we round things up with “Knife Fight”. Another pacey dose of frantic punk rock; the rhythm and hook of the chorus is simply infectious, and though the brief psychotic wailing's of the guitar come across as spasmodic, it’s still a fine climax.

While creatively and stylistically they aren’t as volatile as MURDERDOLLS for example, and nowhere near the bleak, black sense of humour of early TYPE-O-NEGATIVE, but they do have a certain quirkiness to them, which should appeal to a variety of post-punks, alt. rockers and Goth’s alike. There wasn’t a LOT of horror presented here truthfully, other than some zombies and a pun-heavy ‘Nightmare On Elm Street number’, but its early days yet for these Nebraska new-comers…just keep picking at that scab; their nostalgic blend of rock and cartoonish retro horror themes will bleed out eventually. [5]

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/THESCABBYGHOULS
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My Wreckord Collection: Colin James MacFarlane

6/3/2019

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We’re going local again for this installment of the Wreckord Collection, as we turn our attention to COLIN JAMES MACFARLANE. Not just a cog in the local independent music scene, he is a Jack of all trades and generally more of an all-round entertainer, dabbling in solo work, fronting the band BREAKDOWN FACE, conducting interviews with other bands, making gig diaries, dabbling in hip-hop/rap songs (Consider him a dairy free Vanilla Ice) and making comedy skit videos on his YouTube channel. Here, in his own words, he talks us through some of the records that inspired him and had the biggest impact on him creatively…
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BUSTED - "A PRESENT FOR EVERYONE"

"The self-titled Busted album was the first album I ever owned, but 'A Present For Everyone' was better than it in every single way so I consider it to be the more important album for me! This was the first album in my life where every album track is better than every single, people write Busted off as a gimmicky band writing about air hostesses and crashing weddings, but those are just the singles (And great singles they are) but the album tracks town down the gimmicks and are really, really great songs, I could name them all; 'Falling For You', 'That Thing You Do', 'Over Now', 'Fake', 'Meet You There', 'Why', 'Loner In Love', 'Better Than This', 'Can't Break Thru', 'Nerdy'...FUCK ME THOSE ARE GREAT SONGS! It's a 15 track album too so I'm surprised the record label didn't stop them and say 'There's too many hits on this album, stop there and save some for the next album!' but their song writing and musicianship is at their absolute peak here! This album was a magic moment in time and I'm super grateful to have such an all killer no filler album from the first band I ever got into otherwise I don't think I would've fallen in love with music like I did, BRILLIANT BRILLIANT BRILLIANT BRILLIANT!”


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RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE - "RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE"

"How in actual fuck can a band be this good? Perhaps the first band to actually blow my mind how good they were with this album, song writing and musicianship and production is the best it'll ever be on here, phenomenal start to finish, a moment in time that even the band themselves couldn't replicate! 'Evil Empire' and 'The Battle Of Los Angeles' are good albums, but self-titled is FUCKING MIND BLOWING INSANE! ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS EVER MADE! FUCKING RIDICULOUS LEVELS OF AMAZING!"


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METALLICA - "ST. ANGER"

"During a school lunch break in 2006 when I was 14, my 2 friends were trashing Metallica and were saying the song 'St. Anger' sucked so I just had to hear it! [Laughs] I'd never heard Metallica before, so I got home and searched for Metallica - St. Anger on YouTube and it was the best fucking riff I'd ever heard! I was mind-blown and thought ‘If this is meant to be their WORST, imagine what their BEST stuff is like!?’ and I found 'Enter Sandman', 'Battery', 'Master Of Puppets' and loved these songs enough to order some CDs from Amazon so I bought 'Master Of Puppets', 'The Black Album' and 'St. Anger'. I fucking LOVED 'Master Of Puppets' and was again, mind blown, 'The Black Album' was next and eh, I liked it but found it really middle of the road, then I played 'St. Anger' and it was so fucking crushing heavy and fucking crazy, sounds like a band that lost their damn minds and didn't give a fuck! So many hooks, so many crushingly heavy riffs, it follows no rules, it's its own genre, I was so drawn to it's I suppose you could say ‘rebelliousness’ and to this day I still am!

Sure I understand the ‘no guitar solos and drum sounds like a trash can’ criticisms but as the album was already 3 years old when I heard it and I was new to Metallica it didn't give me the negative reaction it gave people when it first came out who'd been following the band for years. I chose 'St. Anger' as my life changing album for showing me that sometimes you should go crazy and not give a fuck, 'Master Of Puppets' is better sure, but those songs are so elegantly written that I don't relate to it as much as Metallica just hammering out some insanity in the form of music."



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GREENDAY - "21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN"

"Perhaps my favourite album of all time…I have the chills for 75 minutes straight, this album does something to me that no other album does, it’s just a JOURNEY. I was a huuuuge Green Day fan-boy for 5 whole years and listened the shit out of all their albums and couldn't believe when they released a new album in 2009, that they'd actually made an album I loved even more than the 7 that preceded it, an absolute masterpiece. I'm one of those weirdo’s who thinks 'Insomniac' is a step up from 'Dookie' and '21st Century Breakdown' a step up from 'American Idiot'! [Laughs]. Side note, I named my band Breakdown Face because my friend Ethan said to me on MSN Messenger that he was going to call his new band No Face but I was like ‘that's a shit name, call it...’ (My 21st Century Breakdown CD was on my computer desk) "...Breakdown Face or something" and I was like I'M KEEPING THAT!" [Laughs]


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LINKIN PARK - "METEORA"

"FUCKING MIND BLOWING ALBUM! It takes the 'Hybrid Theory' formula, makes everything darker, heavier and most importantly BETTER! It's short too so I can listen to it twice, thrice, 4 times a day sometimes, by far my most played album of the last 2 years anyway, PUMPS ME UP SO MUCH! The drum machine intro into the riff of 'Don't Stay', the ‘the very worst part of you...IS MEEEEEE!!!!!!!’ middle section of 'Lying From You', FUUUUUCK THIS ALBUM IS RIDICULOUS! The very best nu metal has ever been, absolute masterpiece and one of my favourite albums of all time!"


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OASIS - "BE HERE NOW"

"I'd been an Oasis fan for years, but I fell into the trap of ‘Only the first 2 albums are good’ and had never bothered to listen beyond 'Morning Glory', but when I finally did I was MIND BLOWN! You mean THIS is the album people say is when Oasis went downhill? I literally couldn't believe how good it is, the most punk, the most trippy, the most epic Oasis have ever been, they pushed themselves to their absolute limits here! Everything people say is bad about the album (Long songs, layers and layers of guitars) is exactly why I LOVE it!

I believe the reason most people don't give it a chance is because Oasis have a very, for lack of a better word ‘normie’ audience and this album is TOO epic for them and doesn't cater to the 4 minute hit songs they like! Every song is fucking great, but to mention some individually 'MY BIG MOUTH', 'THE GIRL IN THE DIRTY SHIRT', 'I HOPE I THINK I KNOW', 'IT'S GETTING BETTER MAN'!!!!! Absolute fucking MASTERPIECE from start to finish, not just one of MY favourite albums of all time, but I strongly think that my opinion aside, it's one of THE best albums ever made and because journalists won't say it no one will, trust me on this one people!"



WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/BREAKDOWNFACEMUSIC
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Tenacious D - "Post-Apocalypto"

3/12/2018

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This is not, the greatest review in the world; no…this is just a tribute…a tribute to a once mighty beast…whose powers have been depleted faster than Superman getting pegged with a Kryptonite dildo. Yes we’re here today to remember TENACIOUS D. Back in 2001, the comedy rock duo of Jack Black and Kyle Gass would become one of the greatest cult phenomenon’s of modern alternative music, with tracks like “Wonderboy”, “Tribute” of course and not forgetting “Fuck Her Gently”, not only bridging the gap between music and comedy, but doing it so effectively. EVERYONE would sing along to these, and the sketches that littered their self-titled debut were genuinely amusing, but alas, the laughter wouldn’t last too long…

Their follow up project “The Pick Of Destiny” (Both an album and a motion picture) didn’t do so well, (At the box-office especially) losing money and receiving mixed to negative reviews; it seemed like they’d undertaken too much…perhaps their fifteen minutes was already up? The joke seemingly already wearing thin…however to the surprise of many, they returned in 2012 with the attempted come-back album “Rise Of The Fenix”. A shot at redemption, it did get them nominated for a Grammy award for Best Comedy Album, but the quality simply wasn’t matching up to their debut and although they’d grown as musicians, they’d faded somewhat as entertainers. This leads us to 2018 and again, surprisingly, we find The D releasing another studio album’ “Post-Apocalypto”. Another concept here, it coincides with their own mini animated YouTube series (I use the term animated very loosely) following their struggles and adventures in, you guessed it, a post-apocalyptic world…but is it worth the listen?

We open up with the “Post-Apocalypto Theme” and as it acts as the animations theme song it really is only a brief jingle at best…a pacey flurry of acoustic guitar and percussion backing Jack Black’s trademark dramatic vocal. It’s up-tempo, catchy enough and easy listening,  ironically ending with the line ‘Tenacious D has got to shine’…almost acknowledging previous failures. Sadly, not only are any further ACTUAL musical highlights so few and far between, over an album consisting of TWENTY ONE tracks bare in mind…but those twenty one tracks only have a 30 MINUTE run time…this really isn’t boding well. The tracks (If you can call them that honestly) that do manage to stand out are “Hope”, which delivers a sweet little acoustic ditty that transitions its way into a power ballad of sorts…there’s “Making Love” which can be looked upon in one of two ways; either it’s a spiritual successor to “Fuck Her Gently” or they’ve simply tried to emulate themselves with shamefully recycled ideas (STEEL PANTHER much?).

The random references to Elon Musk and Richard Branson during “Take Us Into Space” push for a little bit of fourth-wall breaking but as a track it’s typical as it comes; it’s accompanying skit “I’ve Got To Go” no more than standard D shenanigans really. Finding further musical points of worth is difficult…”Daddy Ding Dong” opts for a more metal inspired piece, Jack Black does love a hard rocking riff but it’s nothing shy of ridiculous. There’s sketches about sex with cave women, a random, pro-KKK piece featuring an anti-gay march, there’s a clichéd German character, all tied in to some Donald Trump references…I mean what the ACTUAL fuck? ”JB JR Rap” has a deep, dark hip-hop synth beat and some auto tune which is probably the most interesting thing musically here which says A LOT, before we end up finishing rocking out on “Woman Time” and the reprise of the theme song. Ultimately, as an accompanying album, this really falls flat and feels more like a brief collection of sound bites AT BEST…if you’re going to invest any time in new Tenacious D material, stick to the animation on YouTube, as this really fails on record. As audio content, it not only feels rushed together, but it misses the mark entirely regarding humour…there’s nothing wrong with being crude and childish occasionally, but this is just cringe-worthy, I sadly believe the D in their name now simply stands for Done. [1]

WWW.TENACIOUSD.COM
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Electric Six - "Bride Of The Devil"

23/11/2018

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​GIRL! I WANT TO TAKE YOU TO A GAY BAR! Well, to be honest, actually I don’t, BUT, I DO however want to take you on a journey, to remind you about one of the most underrated, hardest working bands on the planet; ELECTRIC SIX. I preach this practically every year, and that’s simply because, whether you’re aware of it or not, Electric Six have practically released a new album EVERY FUCKING YEAR since “Fire”, and frankly not enough people take notice!

People may naturally assume that, to be so prolific creatively, to produce a full album a year and complete all their touring commitments, it really must be a case of quantity over quality? And sure over the years, the band have dropped a lot of their overtly blatant ridiculousness, but having spoken to front man Dick Valentine, it’s interesting to learn that, despite him being very much the face and voice of the band, it’s very much a group effort. Each member of the band in fact writes three or four songs for each album cycle, resulting in a lot of time being saved and more importantly, a rich tapestry of differing styles and influences shaping each and every record. With that in mind, we’re about to delve into album number FOURTEEN; “Bride Of The Devil”…let’s get hitched…

With Dick’s typically dry-humour we open up with “The Opener” and I do like it when things get to the point it has to be said…with its subtle distortion and sludgy riffs, accompanied by plenty of vocal wails, plus Dick favouring his gritty, higher pitched delivery here, almost channelling an AC/DC-esque style, it’s an intense but enjoyable start. This actually carries through the first half of the album with some truly solid cuts from E6, keeping momentum going at a steady but satisfying pace…tracks like “You’re Toast” musically slowing things down for the most part, opting for a semi-blues rock offering, with Dick’s vocals full of piss and vinegar, to a degree akin to something CLUTCH might produce, which is always a good thing, while “(It Gets A Little) Jumpy” is a quaint little acoustic number, full of smooth melody and Summery hooks; it really is a lovely little track.

The second half of the album however….sadly; doesn’t match the same quality. It exceeds it! It honestly just gets stronger as it goes on and seriously, the band is on top form here…”Hades Ladies” saunters in with its gravelly rock ‘n’ roll vibe and deep groove; full of swagger and confidence…the title track utilises more of a simplistic synth-based hook layered within some classic rock influences, especially the brief solo which would easily please fans of THE DARKNESS for example, before album highlight “Witches Burning” delivers some classic E6 with its bluesy guitar licks and quality riff-work with an anthemic chorus…this is quality.

The album DOES drop the ball slightly with its closing track “The Worm In The Wood” as the sudden drop in tempo isn’t so much of a come-down as a let-down, with the latter half of the album getting you pumped up, hoping for an explosive climax. The tinny almost tropical guitar’s giving off an almost CHRIS ISAAK vibe which is nice, don’t get me wrong, but it can’t help but feel ever so slightly anti-climactic. Overall however that’s a minor annoyance that doesn’t take away from what is admittedly a superb album…fourteen albums in and Electric Six are still as consistent and reliable as ever, on this instance maybe even more so, as it’s one of their strongest collection of songs in a few years now…if I may paraphrase the great BILLY IDOL…it’s a nice day for a white wedding; it’s a nice day to, start listening to Electric Six again. [8]

WWW.ELECTRICSIX.COM
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Lordi - "Sexorcism"

21/11/2018

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Over the years many an artist, in rock ‘n’ roll especially, have used shock tactics or elaborate theatrics to help get themselves noticed. It’s all part of the image; the horror and excess that (Music aside) helps separate rock and metal from other genres. Many have succeeded throughout history…ALICE COOPER arguably helped start it all with his stage production going WAY back, you have the likes of ROB ZOMBIE bridging media formats by branching out into some intensely brutal horror movies…though today however we’re focusing not so much on artistic theatre, but, more of a macabre pantomime…yes we’re going to be looking at LORDI. Now instantly recognisable, their whole gimmick is based around the demonic monster costumes designed by front man Mr Lordi (Real name Tomi Petteri Putaansuu) but, despite being around for some time now, it wasn’t until that fateful and unforgettable night where they WON the Eurovision Song Contest for Finland back in 2006.

As unreal as that sounds, “Hard Rock Hallelujah” catapulted them into a mainstream audience, and their tongue-in-cheek style or horror metal has won them over a legion of fans, and they now have an impressive back catalogue of albums. Earlier this year they released their ninth; the wonderfully titled “Sexorcism”, supposedly their most controversial release to date…somebody better call Father Merrin, I think Jesus has done WAY more than fuck this lot…

We begin with the title track and it does open up like a cut from a horror movie score; really dramatic sounding and in preparation for a jump scare or intense fight between good and evil. The simple but ominous piano soon gives way though to some decent riffs and a surging hard-rock aesthetic and musically this is fine; it’s got a decent melodic hook for  a chorus too which, given, Mr Lordi’s honestly awful gravelled vocals, is quite impressive….it’s been produced really well up in Finnvox. This is far from a regular exorcism however (Is there even such a thing?) as he sings of FINGERING the demon out of her…steady on guys this isn’t the 19th century, you can’t be palming shit like this off like hysteria…did she even consent? This gimmick is backed up later by the interlude “Scg9: The Documented Phenomenon”, which essentially parodies THAT Exorcist scene with only slightly re-arranged verbiage. I really don’t know if this is a tribute or a parody…

The ridiculousness doesn’t stop there however as thematically following on from the title track we’re gifted with “The Beast Is Yet To Cum”...a nice play on words there Sir but if anything you’re promoting the fact that your own fingering skills are sub-par at best. Y’all motherfuckers need STEEL PANTHER and that’s one thing I thought I’d never say! In terms of musical highlights, it’s actually quite hard to separate any of the 13 tracks offered this time around. “Naked In My Cellar” has some more catchy synth elements and initially opens up like an early NIGHTWISH number before it delves into this rumbling, bass-heavy riff, and it’s about as clean as Mr Lordi’s vocals can probably get? It’s got a great pop chorus really…”Polterchrist” is another amusingly named track which starts off with some chilling female choir-esque vocals and more piano, before descending into a chugging, classic-metal type affair.

We eventually close out with “Sodomesticated Animal” which aside from its admittedly good name and a decent solo doesn’t inspire a great deal, while “Haunting Season” rounds things up with a generic symphonic metal effort. The trouble with this album is, everything seems to last forever, all of the songs, despite their comedic quirks, sadly drag a little and overstay their welcome to a degree. Less Lordi, more of a thick load quite frankly…a good release for Lordi perhaps like but, not something you want in your ears…the power of Christ compels you to NOT listen to this album. [4]

WWW.LORDI.FI
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Elias - "Walk With Elias" EP

10/9/2018

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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]

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Jaws Of Deaf - "Delicious Discomfort" EP

5/6/2018

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If you’ve at all followed the UK’s alternative scene over the past say, ten years or so, then no doubt you will have at some point stumbled upon the work of Scott Lee Andrews. The wild Welshman originally found minor fame with mid-2000’s post-hardcore rhythm thieves MIDASUNO, before forming Cardiff-based chainsaw loving noise cartel EXIT_INTERNATIONAL, but, more recently, and arguably most notably, his collaboration with GINGER WILDHEART for the third installment of the darkly psychotic project MUTATION. Very prolific and reliable in underground UK music circles, Scott has always been about the intensity, the invigorating sense of finding pleasure in noise and chaos and here we find him working on yet another project to quench his own thirst for the unorthodox. Allow me to introduce to you JAWS OF DEAF and the EP “Delicious Discomfort”…6 tracks hand picked out of around 50 that Scott’s been working on, as he prepares to drop a full length album. Now settle down and get uncomfortable as we check it out…

We open up with “Bait & Switch” which at little over 2-minutes long is the shortest track on offer here and Scott wastes no time delving into his frantic, raucous, thrashy punk roots with an absolute bombardment of messy riffs and demented screeching’s. In his own words; “I really haven’t got a clue what it means”…and that’s partly the fun of it, sometimes noise for noise’ sake is therapeutic. We follow this up with the wonderfully titled “Porno Without The Fucking” and as ridiculous as the statement is, it’s no surprise to learn it came from a YouTube comment that Scott read…intended as a derogatory slur, it’s full of oxymoronic similes, riddled with daft humour, but also a deeper meaning of how the very medication that’s meant to help you can strip you of your identity, resulting in a creative catch-22…another interesting and ultimately fun track.

“Cupid Stunts”
is another brilliantly titled self-depreciating effort, with Scott using bleak humour and a wry smile as he sings with a jolly despair about his questionable decisions in life; full of melody and some surprising vocal harmonies it channels the likes of WEEZER in its overall tone and delivery, even down to the climatic key change and its possibly as accessible as you’re likely to find him on any record. Having said that, there’s also “Californian Frown” to take into account which I’ll be honest, initially reminded me of the credits sequence from “Bottom” but that’s something for another time. A bass-driven affair with wacky vocal delivery (Featuring guest vocalist Givvi Flynn), finding itself stuck between being musically designed for Exit_International but lyrically leaning towards Mutation, resulting in a quirky little, edgy indie-rock number. The final two tracks; “An Alone Wolf” is ripped straight out of “Ash Vs. The Evil Dead”; an animalistic take on grunge, before closing track “The World Looks Better From Behind” is an intentionally misogynistic play on words, but also utilises hidden depth with the idea of hindsight and nostalgia. Musically exploratory, dabbling in brass instrumentation for extra character, the drawl of Scott’s vocal harbors elements of Matt Bellamy from MUSE; elongating each note as the track is stretched towards its dying moments.

All in all despite being just six tracks in length, it more or less caters for everyone if you’re familiar with any of Scott’s previous work; it’s got the tumultuous punk-inspired tones of old, it’s got groove-heavy song writing at its core but it also retains a level of darkness brought on by his collaborations with Ginger…it’s not polished, it’s not fucking meant to be; it’s just raw, and rowdy and fun…he meant delicious discomfort quite literally. [7]

Download "Delicious Discomfort" Here
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Sound Drown - "Dino Droppings" EP

31/3/2018

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I mentioned in my last post that I’d been contacted by a Stencil Magazine representative by the name of Andrew, and that he’d forwarded me a list of bands to check out. What struck me as interesting when I went through the list was that, despite being a UK based PR, the bands not only represented a wide variety of genres but a pretty varied range of nationalities too! Last time we found ourselves over in the US for a band called RUSTY SHIPP, this time we’re still across the pond but moving further north into Canada; allow me to introduce you SOUND DROWN. They too formed in 2014 after founding member Brandon Wiseman (Bass/lead vocals) went through a sort of, recruitment process for the songs he’d written, eventually settling on Drew Neathway (Drums), Nick Ryan (Lead guitar/vocals) and Justin Goss (Guitar/vocals). Initially a covers band while they found their feet, they soon began work on Wiseman’s material and back last year they released their debut EP; “Dino Droppings”…in memory of the late, great Ryan Dunn…let’s go poo diving…

We get the EP underway with “Living Song” and for all intents and purposes it’s a motivational speech; stand up and follow your dreams, live a little, don’t waste opportunities etc. The opening guitar tone is very much up-beat and firmly embedded within a pop-rock pigeonhole, with its melodic structure, but there also subtle breakdowns backing the track giving it an ever so slightly heavier edge, though its climax has a feeling of, they didn’t actually know how to round it up…it just plays on awkwardly, bringing it down ever so slightly. “(Bittersweet) Fault Line” follows up and again we’re met with that standard alternative pop-punk vibe, think NEW FOUND GLORY etc., it’s very much by numbers here in terms of tone and structure, not to say that it’s unpleasant by any means but, it is what it is. An interesting geographical take on relationships, likening the fragility and temperamental aspects of love to earthquakes…it’s…different.

The title track, the shortest piece here is an intense flurry of punk rock that’s best described as finding itself somewhere between BAD RELIGION and NOFX…it’s short and sharp and the solo is pretty damn infectious too by all accounts despite its blink and you’ll miss it feel; it’s fun and frankly you wish there were more of it! Speaking of fun…”M.E.G.I.A.L” is up next and initially you just know it stands for something but dread to think what…so when it turns out to mean “My ex-girlfriend is a lesbian” your inner-child can’t help but chuckle. The track itself is an acoustic gem and easily the EP’s highlight, you want to feel sorry for him but, really you have to point and laugh when he says “She took off with a she-Hulk”, it’s very self-depreciating, especially the line about the strap-on...absolutely brilliant. There’s no sympathy here really, no matter how unconventionally pretty the she-Hulk may or not be. The remaining tracks “Runaway” and “That One Song” are fine; the former returning to their pacey pop-punk formula, the latter having more of a progressive shoe-gaze tone to close the EP in dramatic fashion, but let’s be honest we’re still recovering from the she-Hulk…they peaked early I’m sorry. Pop-punk fans should embrace these as ones to watch as they have plenty of potential, but even in these formative years they’re clearly able to expand into other genres without creating a mess. They’d be more than welcome at SlamDunk, and someone should make that happen. [7]

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SOUNDDROWNMUSIC
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Iron Maiden...vs Angry Birds

16/10/2017

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Rovio Entertainment, the creators behind the hugely popular mobile app game ANGRY BIRDS have teamed up with the one and only IRON MAIDEN this Halloween, bringing you an exclusive gaming experience! Yes, Maiden's world famous mascot and heavy metal icon in his own right; EDDIE will become a playable character in "Angry Birds Evolution" as "Eddie The Bird"...a tribute to the character.

Miika Tams, VP Games and Product Lead for the project states "Our team is filled with massive Iron Maiden fans and Eddie was both our first choice and a natural fit in Angry Birds Evolution...It's about time his status as a true rock icon was celebrated and we know that fans will love seeing Eddie The Bird raise hell on Bird Island!"

Available for two weeks as a character event celebrating Halloween from October 18th, players who successfully recruit Eddie will get to keep him permanently as a member of their Angry Birds team...Llexi Leon, Interactive Creative Director at Phantom Music Management went on to say; "When you get a call from Rovio, one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world confessing that they are Maiden fans and want to celebrate Halloween with Eddie, you just have to take notice. They have outdone themselves with this incredible tribute to Maiden and the opportunity to share the bands music with their millions of players around the world. I really can't wait to play him and skittle those pigs!"

The island in-game will become an exclusively themed heavy metal oasis with a selection of Eddie evolution's to choose from, based on classic Maiden album art work, as well as featuring 100+ new colourful characters. The game is available as a free download from the iTunes App store as well as Google Play. "Can I Play With Madness?" Bruce Dickinson once asked...probably, but you can definitely play Angry Birds. Download it now.

Download "Angry Birds Evolution"
Download The Itunes App Here
3 Comments

Bankrupt Pug - "I Can't Believe I Ate The Whole Thing"

12/4/2017

1 Comment

 
PictureCorrect me if I'm wrong but this cover art suggests otherwise...?
People do this on purpose I swear...they decide to form bands with the sole intention of being so utterly terrible it hurts...I'm not exaggerating, I would rather listen to a rap battle between Prof. Stephen Hawking and Microsoft Sam in real time...speaking of rap, I would rather personally fund a new STEVE-O album...I would rather name my first born daughter ROMAN REIGNS than have to go through any more of this, but, alas...it is my duty to you all to share such a monstrosity.

​Allow me to elaborate; I was sent an email containing a link to an EP, with a request to check it out and review, non-PR related, a personal email. The person in question stated that they were a casual reader of this blog, and wanted to know what I thought about their "comedy / punk" band; BANKRUPT PUG. Alarm bells are already ringing in my ears, are they baiting me?...With influences including "Music, sound effects, cartoons, alcohol and pugs", they created (they didn't write this EP, they created it, like a fucking FRANKENSTEIN monster) the "I Can't Believe I Ate The Whole Thing" EP....did I spare myself the loss of sanity and send this to the spam folder? Of course not...I wasted ten minutes of my sense of hearing only to find myself raging harder than a Red Gyarados flipping it's shit in Johto...here's what I found.

We open up with "Adopt / Adapt / Improve" and all I can say is that initially, it begins with a semi-retro vibe with it's guitar tone taking you back to the likes of THE B52's or MINUTEMEN...musically it's straightforward enough, it's upbeat, generally quirky but vocally, Pablo or Tetley, whichever one it is (Yes, they go by these names, other members include Captain Zilchio, Vlad The Creator and wait for it...Strangey McStrange) it sounds awful. There's barely any tune vocally, it's flat and, lyrics that include two boys burning a bag of dogs is just...what?! It get's worse...we follow up with "Why So Seagullrious?" (I'm not even joking) and it is beyond ridiculous. It's a softer song, it's got subtle keyboard elements that aid with the tracks melody and really it falls under pop-rock more than punk, if you took out all the words this could actually make a decent demo track for a proper band...but those words...I thought I'd heard it all but I was clearly wrong. If you spend three minutes singing about wanting to cause physical harm to a seagull while trying to feed ducks, by sticking dynamite up it's arse, you need help, you really do. I get that this is comedy punk but use that term loosely, very loosely. I hope a seagull shit's in his chips for this song...

What's next? "Golf, Strangling Animals & Masturbation"...OK you know what, I'm not even going there. It's getting to a point now where I'm unsure if I should stop writing this review right now and contact someone...like, the police, or, the RSPCA or, Jeremy Kyle, anyone! I'M going to need counselling let alone this lot! Finally we finish up then on "Marshmallow" and it's another two minutes of up-beat punk-inspired noise akin to our first track and really it's nothing special, ending rather abruptly too which quite frankly is the most merciful thing they've done here...the line "sweat out your sickness" closing the song and really, they should take their own advice, I mean, who recorded this?! Now, I can appreciate artistic merit, freedom of creativity, alternative comedy, freedom of expression and all of that, and even more so I do appreciate being personally contacted and requested, but if you're going to call yourself a comedy act please make sure there's something worth laughing at that ISN'T the fact you submitted this EP, unless, that was the whole point all along? There are other bands from Wales that utilize a comedy twist, NIGHTMARES FROM THE DISCOTHEQUE do it so much better and even BREAKDOWN FACE have found their purposefully low-quality niche...this on the other hand is just bad. Bankrupt is least of their worries, I'd put this pug down myself...[1]

www.facebook.com/bankruptpug
1 Comment

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    Gavin J Griffiths, a.k.a GavTheGothicChav, lover of new music and supporter of bands. Inspired by a mixture of horror and comedy, and fueled by a blend of alcohol and sarcasm...if you're a singer / in a band and would like a review written up, please do get in touch via the email address at the top of the page and I'll get back to you ASAP. Much love x

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