Rambling Man's Reviews

 Australian Punk band Cousin Betty returns with an explosive new single "Taxes and Death" on January 10th, taken from their upcoming debut LP, The band have been riding high with the releases of their two EP'S, Left and Overs. 'TAXES & DEATH' is based on President Benjamin Franklin's famous quote and sees the band venting their frustrations at selfish record labels. Cousin Betty was formed by renowned guitarist and songwriter, Damien Stofka Stofka formed the band after seeking inspiration from The  Desert Sessions. The guitarist seemed disillusioned with being part of a standard band, so he decided to spend his downtime compiling albums worth of material with contributing artists and performers he liked. 'Taxes and Death' is a rousing track, clocking in after one and a half minutes. The guitar-driven song is punchy and aggressive. The band shouts over sharp riffs and pummeling drums. This feels like a punk anthem for the reality we find ourselves i...

Rising female-fronted Rock act Smoking Martha  has released their sophomore effort, Universe , a follow-up to 2017's widely received debut 'In Deep'. The album features the band's diverse sound, combining pop vocal choruses with blistering riffs and infectious hooks over 12 tracks. Smoking Martha, fronted by the charismatic charms of Natasha Doherty, hails from Brisbane, Australia. The quartet has steadily forged a strong cult following with notable support slots with some of rock's recognisable acts, such as Thunder, Uriah Heep and Saliva. The band have also made regular appearances at local festivals in their native Australia, including an appearance at Hard Rock Hell in 2018 in England. The LP was produced by Matt Bartlem and Luke Palmer ( Dead Letter Circus ), and recorded at Studio Circus in Queensland, Australia. The LP starts with the thunderous drum intro of "Good Girls". Doherty's distinctive rich vocals sound similar to No Doubt's G...

  Stockholm-based alt-rockers AD MELIORA returns with the premiere of the video to the new single "No Yellow Bricks." It is the first track since this year's debut EP The Void, The Time, The Path. 'No Yellow Bricks' is a melodic rock song about struggling to overcome doubt and depression to achieve one's personal goals. The quartet consists of experienced musicians from Spain, Italy and The Canary Islands. Ad Meliora combines alternative rock with math-rock elements and melodious passages. The song opens with an alternate finger-picking guitar style that erupts explosively into a distorted riff. This repetition of the riff builds throughout the first verse, slowing towards the bridge. The tempo slows in between verses, as lead vocalist Paolo sings in a reflective tone. The passages are intricate and mellow, as the tempo builds to a climax. The song finishes with a return to the heavy riff that greeted the start of the track, which identifies vocalist Paolo Ala...

  Horror rock quartet EB &THE DEADLIGHTS unleash hell on their much-anticipated debut EP Still See Ghosts. The ghoulish Irishmen hail from Belfast, Northern Ireland, consisting of lead vocalist Ethan Beattie, rhythm guitarist Matt McCabe, drummer Alex Williams and keyboardist/lead guitarist Andy McCarney. The band's mix of punk, razor-sharp riffs and contagious choruses all stems from their influences, including Murderdolls, Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper. The album is five tracks long, clocking in at roughly under 20 minutes. The EP begins with the abrasive "Nightmare Of Reality", a raging two-minute blast of harsh aggressive vocals, frenetic guitars, and enough rawness to start things off. Next up is "Heathen of The Mind", a full-throttle blast of raw anger and angst. The song's groovy riffs, pummeling drums, and a cross between feral screams and clean vocals make this the standout track on the EP. The Deadlights play music on their sleeves with an experi...

Australian Multi-Instrumentalist Aquilus AKA Mr Horace Rosenqvist returns with the first of a two-part opus entitled Bellum-I  via Blood Music Records. The 62-minute eight-track release is heavily influenced by dark, atmospheric metal, European folk and classical music. It is rare to feature such a record on the Rambling Man's pages, but this album has an overall sense of something epic emerging here. The musician hails from Melbourne, Australia and features several musicians on this album. 'Bellum- I' opts to feature some traditional instruments such as acoustic guitars. piano, violins, mandolas, balalaika, mandolins, banjos, gusli, bow psaltery, and fipple flutes. Aquilas first came to prominence ten years ago with his debut album, 'Griseus'. which was preceded by a series of demos released in the 2000s. ' Bellum-I ' brings together eight tracks of melodious symphonies, harrowing vocals and an ethereal adventure all to your stereos. The sombre tinkles of t...

Bath-based Independent Record Label Pale Wizard Records present a tribute to Alice Cooper's 1971 album ' Killer' . The shock rocker's fourth studio album proved to be an influential one on many successors because it proved to be a turning point for the band. 'Killer' was a statement of intent to the critics hung up on the band's theatrics and make-up. The English based record label was formed in 2007 by friends Tim Hilleard and Dan Flitcroft. The duo picked eight of their best acts to sing on the album, including a cameo by Dan Flitcroft's Sergeant Thunderhoof. They wanted to pay a special tribute to their favourite artist, so they thought it would be a good opportunity with 'Killer'. The album was originally released on November 27th,1971. Killer: 50 years later...  features some upcoming acts from the world of hard rock, psychedelia, and the stoner underground putting their own spin on this legendary album. London's Psychedelic Green Lung ...

Country artists The Justin Kemp Band return with a track for all those lonely men and women striving to find that special someone. 'Borrow A Kiss' is a traditional country track with an atypically touching subject in the form of love. The legendary Larry Baird helped produce the track in Nashville, Tennesee. 'Borrow A Kiss' starts with a pleasant fiddle playing in the background, accompanied by the steady strums of the steel-string acoustic guitar. Kemp bursts into song in an affable and warm fashion, which makes this track even more relatable to the topic. The tempo builds in the bridge to a melodic and pleasing chorus that results in a satisfying climax. New Mexico-born Kemp was brought up along the Texas border. Growing up in a musical family, he began to pick up the guitar at the age of eleven years old. He began songwriting in High School and pursued music at South Plains College in Levelland, Tx. Kemp has received much support in his career from his father David...

Multi-instrumental songwriter Hani Abadi has now released his latest single  "Distance." from his upcoming solo project album that is coming in Spring 2022. Abadi is an original member of the Jordanian metal group, formed in 2001. He was born in the former Yugoslavia and raised in Jordan in the Middle East. His band have toured Europe and his home continent, as well as received wide coverage in Terrorizer and Decibel Magazines. 'Distance' is a melodic track that evokes images of the grim realities of our planet. Abadi croons over simply strummed chords and a rhythm section that sounds intimate and personal to the listener. The beautifully arranged flamenco-influenced outro is evocative of the message behind the track. The song was recorded in the North Bay of California – USA and mixed and mastered by Tom MacLean in his studio twelve-tone in the UK. Tom Commented on the song: "If Pete Steele had been the frontman of Opeth on Still Life."  Hani adds the tra...

  This week The Rambling Man grabbed an opportunity to speak with Firewind Guitarist Gus G about his fourth solo album Quantum Leap,  released last month via AFM Records.   The release is a follow up to 2018's Fearless record and is the guitarist's first instrumental solo album. I spoke to the guitarist about the album, his history performing with acts like Arch Enemy and Ozzy Osbourne,  and how the pandemic shaped this impromptu album. Scroll down to read the full interview below. I am here today to talk about your latest album ' Quantum Leap', which came out last month. What can you tell me about it, and what has been the reception to it so far? Yeah, um. Well, this is my fourth solo album overall, and my first all-instrumental album for the first time, so it was quite the task for me personally. It was like, um, overcoming a lot of insecurities that I had about doing this all-instrumental project I kinda' thought about for years. And, um, yeah, it was written d...

UK Progressive Metal Act Apollo Stands have released their highly expected album Interstellar . Formed in Norwich, England five years ago, the band first gave insight into their unusual blend of modern drum and bass, progressive metalcore, and contemporary metal with debut LP 'Join Us', which ensured the band's place on regular slots supporting acts like Sertraline , and Fingers Crossed  , as well as festival appearances at Rockstock , Trick Bag festival and Volume 19 As of 2019, The band consists of Alexei Swatman - guitars, vox, keys, lead vocalist Ry Hase, lead guitarist Olly Smith, bassist Matt Heyward and drummer Edgar Taljaard. This seven-track follow up to 2019's  EP 'Minds' combines classical elements with film scores to create something far-reaching to a rock product. One such piece of evidence comes in the intro "Void", which sounds like an eerie theme tune to some Sci-Fi Netflix show segues nicely into "Insolarus", a track st...

  All-female Hard rock act Plush release their highly-anticipated self-titled debut LP Plush via Pavement Entertainment, this Friday (October 29th). The supergroup of sorts is made up of four of rock's most prodigious female talents under the age of 21. They combine pop melodies with edgy hard rock. The quartet consists of Lead singer Moriah Formica , best known for her appearance on NBC's The Voice, The self-proclaimed "Rock Angel" Brooke Colucc i on drums , Berklee College of Music graduate, Bella Perron on lead guitars and "The Female version of the late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton", Ashley Suppa . Plush was produced by Johnny K . The LP begins with concert fave "Athena", a resounding crowd pleaser with its eerie intro that segues into harrowing guitar breaks, and lung-inducing vocals that mark a statement for the band to be taken seriously. Next up is the anthemic "Champion". This dark and daring track with tenacious riffs feels...

Swiss modern metal heavyweights Ophelia's Eye have unleashed a tantalising three-track EP called,   Fight For Us, as an appetiser for their much anticipated LP. The Swiss quintet has decided to release three songs that are close to their hearts, telling a short story about what they have to offer the world. The five-piece formed in the 2010s under various pseudonyms, including Project Penny and Red Fire Dragon, before settling on the exotically named Ophelia's Eye, based on a character in the E.L.A Hoffman novel The Sandman.  Fight For Us combines harsh vocals and ripping guitar play, and its lyrics are written as escapism through music from the struggles of everyday life. The title track " Fight For Us" begins with an all-out musical assault on the ears with raging guitar leads, earth-shattering blast beats, and deathly growls that sound like an act on a mission. Next up is "Speak of Words of Destruction" which is a modern metal track about improving one...

 All-female trio  Muddibrooke released their eagerly expected debut EP lunacy today (October 22nd).  Produced and mixed at Snug Recordings Co in Nottingham by the band and producers Robin Newman and Richard Collins. Joe Caithness helped master the EP. The trio consists of lead vocalist Harriet "Brooke" McDonnell, bassist and backing vocalist, Anna Melidone and drummer Mary Prince hail from Derby, England. They formed last January, releasing two music singles in the process, which received airplay on Kerrang! and earn " Track of the Week" for BBC Introducing. The five-track release tells the tale of acceptance and rejection within society through 90's alternative rock stylings, emotional vocals, and storied lyrics.  The opener "Devil" is an unsettling tale of an acrimonious relationship that turns sour. Lead vocalist "Brooke" combines sorrow with defiance over long, distorted guitars. Next up is "Liverpool Guy", an anthemic track wi...

  The enigmatic "Horror Rock combo" King of The Dead  has released their much-anticipated EP The Summoning  with an accompanying comic book. The band's infectious pop/punk is a nod to bands like Alkaline Trio , Ghost and 30 Seconds To Mars . King Of The Dead are lead by the masked individual, known as "The Familiar", who is said to sit between the worlds. The EP is a concept based on a tale of sacrifice, possession and the occult through five videos. released in chronological order on how the singles appear on the EP. Opener "Control" is a driving alt-rocker with impassioned vocals, exhilarating guitars, and rumbling basslines. Next Up is the upbeat tempo of "Destroy My Name", an evocative pop-rock track with hook-laden choruses, bouncing rhythms and edgy guitars, supplemented by dazzling synths. The EP continues to tell this story through fast-paced songs, accompanied by emotive melodies that hark back days to the aforementioned "Emo-...

 Alternative rockers' Dig Lazarus self-released their debut LP, Don't Threaten Me with A Good Time this past Frida y  (October 15th) The follow up to 2019's EP Figure It Out was produced by Dave Draper (The Wildhearts) and features some special guests in the guise of EODM frontman Jesse Hughes and The Virgin Mary's Ally Dickaty. The album is ten years of hard work for long time friends, Vocalist Ash Tustain, drummer/percussionist Jack Cotterill and the spectacularly named bassist/vocalist Atticus Hall Mcnair hail from Nuneaton, England. The band's anthemic rock boasts plenty of catchy choruses and meaty riffs to keep one happy. The aforementioned Mr Hughes opens things with a humorous sermon, declaring to his congregation "You don't threaten me with a good time " soon segues into the solid rocker "Road Runner", a singalong track with pulsating riffs to get the album off to a good start. Next up is the groovy rhythms of "Never changes...

  Singer/songwriter Jaime Kyle has released "Wild One", a track with as much a coloured history as Kyle herself. Kyle wrote this track in the early nineties, before being taken up by Faith Hill and earning the songstress a number one spot. Jaime Kyle is seen as something of a trailblazer in the industry, becoming the first female artist to sign a major record label out of Nashville. Jaime Kyle continues to garner respect for writing and recording music, as well tours across the US and Europe. her songs have been covered by artists as diverse as Nancy Wilson to Kelly Clarkson, selling 19 million records worldwide. "Wild One" is an anthemic rocker with all the charm and grace of Kyle as a singer. Kyle's warm and mellifluous vocals croon over a guitar-driven sound. The searing guitar solos and choral harmonies leave this sounding like the perfect radio hit. Words by Anselm Anderson Social Media HOME | Jaimekyle Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube