Song Review: HARRIET COMFORT- THE OTHER SIDE

Words by Anselm Anderson

East London Rockers Harriet Comfort mark their return with 'The Other Side', released November 27th will be the follow-up to debut single Time is Now. (Click here to read the review)

The band took full advantage of the recent lockdown, and the " rules of six", to complete recording with producer Peter Maher live in the studio. Ryan Pinson helped mix the track, inspired by a night out with some unsavoury characters.

Harriet Comfort brings to life experiences to deliver a bluesy number that steeps to their depths to play to their strengths. The empowering presence of Amy Church on vocals produces a sultry essence to the backdrop of eerie keys and soaring guitars. Bassist Rick Gold's driving basslines rumble along to Sean Dalton's timely drumbeats. The song builds tension, as Church conveys a solitary figure. The dark overtones quickly explode into a catchy chorus. as atmospherics change to the increasing tempo. Guitarist Brett Mcfarlane adds a tantalising instrumental break towards the end to underlie a feeling the band has departed for the evening.

Harriet Comfort continues to grow as a unit with solid musicianship and tight chemistry. they understand how to engage the audience with infectious tales and hidden meanings.

Harriet Comfort is currently working on their first LP release.

Band Members

Amy Church - Vocals

Sean Dalton - Drums

Rick Gold - Bass

Brett MacFarlane - Lead Guitar

Anna Peiris - Rhythm Guitar

Sue Summers - Keys

Social Media Accounts

https://harrietcomfort.com/

https://www.instagram.com/harrietcomfortband/

https://www.facebook.com/harrietcomfortband

Click here to watch the video for "The Other Side"

SONG OF THE DAY AGE OF IGUANA - TWO OF A KIND

Words by Anselm Anderson
 Australians' Age of Iguana recently released two singles, "Two of a Kind & "Otherside" " Two of a Kind" is the first single from the band.

The Alt-Rock/3 piece consists of Ben George ( Vox.Guitar), bassist Bernard Hickey and drummer Aidan Smith. They were first formed by high school friends George and Hickey before, Smith later joined them from Melband.

Two Of A Kind is a psychedelic number, steeped in hazy vocals and screeching guitars to leave your head spinning. 

The track was recorded during the first Lockdown when Ben George teamed up with Simon Polinski to mix and master the track in two separate locations: Ben's Home and Laundry Goat Studios.

Age of Iguana cites Oasis, Brian Jonestown Massacre and Dinosaur Jr amongst their influences, which can be heard here.

The track begins with a retro 70's vibe with dazzling keys and meaty riffs segue into George's laid back vocals. George's simple strumming patterns accompany an equally accomplished rhythm section to feel like an acid trip through time.

The Age of Iguana is certainly on its way.

Social Media Accounts

Facebook/ Bandcamp/Soundcloud

SONG REVIEW ALLEN KEY- STRAW HOUSE

Sao Paolo's finest, Allen Key recently released "Straw House", the first single off their latest album " The Last Rhino"

The band's blend of melodic songwriting and heavy metal stylings presents the aggressive new single " Straw House".

Allen key is headed by vocalist Karina Menasce supported by Victor Anselmo and Pedro Fornari guitars, and the rhythm of Felipe Bonomo.

The track begins with a sonic assault of the ears, surging guitar chords battering your earlobes, as Menasce announces " Before you look at me, you better watch yourself. Katrina Menasce sounds like a wounded woman, as she lets her anger erupt through soaring melodies and pulsating drum fills. The song breaks down as a sign of reflection to the rhythm of Latin grooves.





The Last Rhino was released in February, under the watchful eyes of producer Wagner Meirinho. All songs were mix and mastered at Loud Factory studios. he bass and drums were recorded in Rodrigo Cunha music studio, and the illustration was signed by Banca artist. Tthe 8 track album is out now via all good platforms.






Tracklisting

“Straw House”;

“The Last Rhino”;

“Illusionism”; “

Love You More”; “

Mr. Whiny P00h”;

“Granted”; “

Flourish; Goodbye”.

social media accounts

instagram.com/allenkeyofficial

INTERVIEW- LEAVE'S EYE'S " THIS IS OUR LYRICAL WORLD WE ARE MOVING IN"

 Photo courtesy of Stefan Heileman

I

nterview by Anselm Anderson

I recently reviewed the excellent " The Last Viking", from German symphonic metallers' Leave's Eyes. The album focuses on the last battle of King Harold Hadrada at Stamford Bridge, before succumbing to his fate in England. The album is a beautiful display of orchestration, songwriting, incredible dual vocals.

I got an opportunity to speak with lead singer, songwriter, and true Viking Alexander Krull about "The Last Viking", the orchestration, Viking sagas, and the difficulties of making an album during the pandemic

Hello, I hope you are well. Leave’s Eyes have a new album out on Friday called “The Last Viking”, Can you explain a bit about it, and what listeners can expect?

Alex: “The Last Viking” is a big, diverse metal album for Leaves' Eyes with probably the most epic Viking saga there is. We are also proud to present the over 90 min film documentary “Viking Spirit” which was a lot of work, too, and it was filmed in a period of 5 years!

I understand the title refers to the last battle of Hardrada in England before he met his untimely fate. Can you elaborate more on the topic, and how you feel this played a part in the development of the music?

Alex: True, as especially this concept album has such a fantastic background! The adventures of Hardrada are very exciting, I guess you could easily make a big tv show like Game of Thrones out of it, maybe they got even inspired by this saga. We start the album at the moment when Hardrada dies and getting hit by an arrow in his neck at Stamford Bridge in England in the battle for the crown of England. In the last breath, his whole life comes back in flashes and we are taking the listeners back into the adventures of the Norse king where he travels through faraway countries, had to flee as young man from Norway, fighting for the Rus king and serving the Varangian guard, getting married to a Russian Princess and returning to Norway to become a king. What a story and what an impact to history - after Harald Hardrada's death in the Battle at Stamford Bridge in 1066, the Viking age was over. So this is an epic turning point in history, which you can find and hear musically for example in the dark and opulent title track of the album.

I understand the band are fans of Viking saga, how was the band able to transpose a historical figure into lyrics for the album?

Alex: I did a lot of research for this album. The research itself was already an adventure of its own. I am a history nerd and also I'm also sword fighter in the Viking reenactment scene. I'm doing this for many years, training every week, going to battles to fight and having Viking friends all over the world. The group JOMSBORG which I'm part of is the biggest modern Viking army and international group out there based in many countries and several continents. So this is something which I surely bring into the lyrical cosmos of LEAVES' EYES. With the album, we will also release the DVD “Viking Spirit” which is a over 90 min film documentary where you can find out a lot of the fascination of Viking Lifestyle, living history, Norse mythology and connection to the music of Leaves' Eyes. By the way, the soundtrack of “Viking Spirit” is also great and available like the movie on the Artbook edition of the new album!

Do you find it easier to write about a subject like this, in contrast to more personal songs based on your life experiences?

Alex: I think with Leaves' Eyes we will always be connected with Norse mythology, medieval topics, powers of nature, legendary landscapes and mystical themes. So all our albums can be seen in a continuation and evolving process. This is our lyrical world that we are moving in, and to me, each of the songs means also something personal as I try to connect myself with the topics.

The haunting single “Dark Love Empress” features examples of strong songwriting and harrowing vocals from Elina Sirala, what is the song about|?

Alex: “Dark Love Empress” is about the secret unfulfilled love of the Byzantine empress Zoe. The sagas tell us that Zoe was after Harald, but when he rejected her love she puts him into prison. A tragic, dark atmospheric song.

The track also features some wonderful arrangements from musicians that accentuate the vocals. These appear on the album throughout with some unique instruments. Could you tell me more about the people involved, and how you were able to coerce them into joining you in the studio during recordings?

Alex: The whole album is a very song-oriented work of music, with a huge production in the back to support the music itself – from classical instruments, big choirs, Viking shouts to traditional natural instruments like Nyckelharpa, Fiddles and big war drums combined with the heavy metal sound. We love to work with real instruments and musicians. So, for example, we worked with our friend and Nyckelharpa player Thomas Roth, who came to our headquarters and jammed along to several songs, as well as Lea-Sophie Fischer from Russkaja on violin. Lea-Sophie can be heard with her beautiful violin playing in the midpart of “Dark Love Empress”.

How significant was it to have musicians of such gifts on the album as a whole.?

Alex: All these great players and their instruments and handmade sound colours to the album, which is very important for us. The sound of the Nyckelharpa for example has this ability to let you travel back in time and take you to places that the concept is about. Real played instruments resonate so much more in the listener's ears than just digital plugins. We always love to work with these handmade, manmade sounds.

On some tracks, You and Elina Sirala appear in an apparent dual between melodic and harsh vocals, What story does this tell about the songs involved, and how important is it to forge chemistry with somebody with opposite vocal styles?

Alex: Since the beginning of our career we used these contrasting elements in our music and especially with our two different voices. It just opens up a lot of possibilities, creates dynamics and tension in the music and makes it much more enriched. For “The Last Viking” we have been working on the songs and vocals together already in an early demo-stage of the songs. I think that helped to shape the music and vocals exactly in the way we wanted it. Elina does a great job on the album. I can't wait to perform many of those new killer songs live together with Elina and the band.

French Rock Sensation Clementine Delauney of Visions Of Atlantis fame appears on “Black Butterfly”, What was it like working with her, and how much input did she have on recordings?

Elina- Vox: We wanted a singer with a different kind of voice to mine, that would bring another character and contrast to the song. “Black Butterfly” is a perfect choice as it gives the opportunity to bring out both of our voices while still blending them together and the division of the verses and other parts also worked very naturally. We were very fortunate that Clementine was able to travel to the studio during these difficult times and recording with her was a great experience! I hope we get to play the song live one day.

I know we have already discussed the historical elements of the lyrics, but what was the writing process like?

Tosso- Guitars/Bass: The writing and production of a new LEAVES' EYES album are always very intense, with love to all musical details and colours. When we write a new album we always approach it with a studio AND live perspective. So the symphonic elements and the metal sound of the band go hand in hand. We are not hiding behind walls of orchestration. We started with the songwriting in early 2019 at our headquarters MASTERSOUND STUDIOS. After having all songs worked out as demo versions, almost all final recordings took place in 2020, also here at MASTERSOUND STUDIOS. Besides our band recordings with vocals, drums, guitars and basses, we also recorded choirs, violins, Nyckelharpa and some more stuff here inhouse.

What was it like to work with artist Stefan Heilemann, and how much influence did he have on the output of the album?

Alex: Heile is a great artist living here in our area in Stuttgart. We already worked together in the past for a few LEAVES' EYES albums and the outcome was always fantastic. Usually, the band and I have a clear idea and vision of what we want to create with the artwork, so Stefan Heilemann is more executing these ideas. But of course, we also love his approach to photography and artwork. Besides he is a great human being. Schwaben Power, haha.

And Finally, the pandemic has played a catastrophic role on many band’s livelihoods over the past few months, how were you able to deal with the restrictions during the recording process?

Tosso: The main recordings for the album took place in early 2020. So at a certain point, with rising covid numbers and the lockdown, it was really in danger if we could finish the album in time. The whole band came to our safe laboratories Mastersound Studios. Our drummer Joris made it just 1 hour 30 minutes before the borders were closed to Germany. Also, the photoshoot for the artwork was not so easy to realize during the pandemic. But in the end, we made everything happen in time, also with a big help from our friends in the Viking scene.

Thank you for agreeing to talk with Rambling Man’s Reviews

The Last Viking is available now via AFM Records

Click here to read the album review;https://anselmanderson.blogspot.com/2020/10/album-of-week-leaves-eyes-last-viking.html

SONG OF THE DAY- VOODOO CIRCLE RELEASE " DEVIL WITH AN ANGEL SMILE", AHEAD OF NEW ALBUM .

 

VOODOO CIRCLE have released their new single, 'Devil With An Angel Smile“  the first track to be taken off new album 'Locked And Loaded' which will be released 15th January 2021.

Just recently, classic hard rock masters VOODOO CIRCLE announced that vocalist David Readman and drummer Markus Kullmann are now part of the group again, so the original line-up is reunited.

The track is arena rock with classic rock stylings. Huge choruses intertwine with sizzling guitar solos. New singer David Readman is a welcome addition, alongside drummer Markus Kullman to add afresh impetus to the band's sound. Click below to listen to the track

January 15th will see VOODOO CIRCLE release their highly anticipated new album, 'Locked & Loaded'. The successor to 2018’s 'Raised On Rock' was mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (Pretty  Maids, Volbeat, Primal Fear) and includes the following songs:

Tracklisting

1. Flesh & Bone
02. Wasting Time
03. Magic Woman Chile
04. Locked & Loaded
05. Devil With An Angel Smile
06. Straight For The Heart
07. Eyes Full Of Tears
08. Devil’s Cross
09. Trouble In The Moonlight
10. This Song Is For You
11. Children Of The Revolution

'Locked & Loaded' will be available as Digipak & ltd. coloured Vinyl.
Pre-order available now.

Voodoo Circle is:

Alex Beyrodt - guitar & vocals

David Readmann - vocals

Mat Sinner - bass & vocals

Markus Kullmann - drums

Social Media Accounts

https://www.facebook.com/voodoocircle/
http://www.voodoocircle.de/ 
https://twitter.com/AlexBeyrodt