Rambling Man's Reviews

  Indie Rockers' Pretty Mafia release 'Slow Down' today (Friday 29th April) via   Premier League football referee Jonathan Moss' record label  Vinyl Whistle. This will be the first track from their upcoming EP 'Slow Down', which will be released this summer. Formed in 2019, The quartet hail from Wakefield, West Yorkshire. This will be the first track recorded with new members, Pat (drums) and Tom (bass) 'Slow Down' is a stripped back Indie song with a simple message I think is about taking it easy in a relationship. The track begins with an acoustic intro with a basic strumming pattern. The tempo builds towards the bridge before it explodes into a repetition of Maybe we just need to slow down/Gotta slow down. The casual approach of the vocals, tight drumming and up-tempo guitar leads in the final third make this an easy to listen to the track that is atypical of the radio-friendly indie rock coming through the airwaves. Words by Anselm Anderson SOCIA

Metalcore outfit Above All returns after a twenty-year hiatus to unleash chaos on the metal scene. 'Disarm The Gods' is their first record back, released last month via Memphia Music Management. Formed in Essex, England in the 1990s, Above All was created with the sole intention of blending hardcore with metal. It was not long until they built a powerful reputation, tearing up stages in support of luminaries like Fear Factory, Life of Agony and Korn. This success led to the release of a '7' on Indie Label Surehand , and a debut album on RoadRunner Records. And then suddenly, the band called it quits. The band made their triumphant return during the 2020 lockdown, headlining the successful 'Then and Now Hardcore Festival' the following summer. The band were officially back with new guitarist Jay Rowe, and their first release in 26 years. 'Disarm The Gods' is a three-track EP steeped full of the brutality and aggression the average fan of Metalcore would c

Nervosa and Burning Witches  I had the opportunity to visit Manchester this past week to catch the all-female heavyweights of metal, Swiss power metal band Burning Witches and Brazil's Thrash metals' Nervosa on the last leg of their UK tour, as part of their extensive European one, and they did not disappoint the waiting crowd. The almost-packed Rebellion was ready in the misty, dark venue. The lights suddenly went out and the first act of the evening appeared to an eager audience. The band were called Bloodyard , a four-piece from the Northwest of England, led by the diminutive and tenacious singer, Donna Hurd. This was the first time I had heard of them, and they soon got the crowd bobbing and flailing. The band play groove-laden death metal. Hurd's death howls grunted in unison with the mesmerising riffs that stuck in the ear long afterwards. As for how support bands go, these were impressive. They combined all the raw intensity of Nervosa with the riffs and energy of B

The Rambling Man grabbed an opportunity with rising country singer/songwriter Gabrielle Metz to discuss her latest single 'Masks', how she broke into the music industry and her new publishing deal. Please scroll down to read the full interview, as well as listen to the track. Hello, how are you? I’m good! Thank you for having me do this interview.  Could you introduce yourself to the readers? I’m Gabrielle Metz! I am a Country Singer-Songwriter originally from Alabama. I moved to Nashville at 17 and I have been doing music there for the last four years!  How did you begin in the music industry? I have been singing all my life! At 14 I started writing songs and teaching myself how to play the guitar. Before my senior year of high school, I told my parents I wanted to pursue music full time, so I enrolled in online school (before it was the normal haha) and graduated early. I moved to Nashville six weeks after and I have been working in the music industry since! How would you des

   Emerging Metallers Ancient Settlers have recently released their much-anticipated debut ' Our Last Eclipse- The Settlers Part 1', earlier  this month via Crusader Records. The six-piece was formed in San Sebastian, Spain in 2020 by lead guitarist Carlos Chiesa-Estomba, drummer Herman Riera, Rene González (keyboards), Emmy Reyes (rhythm guitar), and Antony Hämäläinen (vocals), with full-time bassist Miguel Herrera completing the line-up in April 2021. The six-piece soon set out on a mission to explore the frontiers of modern melodic death metal as a more worldly equivalent of Sepultura with political lyrics about social unrest, synths, pounding drums and screeching guitars. This debut LP follows their first EP 'Alumnus' last year. Grammy award-winning producer Fredrik Nordstrom produces this release. The release begins with the powerful 'Into the Depths I Ride' with its harsh metal sound. The rough vocals scream in defiance over pummeling drum beats and drum f

  Rising Uk Rockers' Voltstorm comes raging through the airwaves with their new six-track self-titled EP, released last month. The band hail from London and feature an array of talent, playing and touring throughout Eastern Europe, South America, and the rest of Europe. Lead singer John D Prasec gains valuable influences from Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford with his operatic vocal style, alongside guitarist Fred Stigliano, and drummer Ivo Yordanov. The EP was produced by Allessio Garavello in Wembley. I have had the opportunity to play a couple of the tracks on the blog's radio show and was eager to hear the rest. 'C.O.D', or Children of The Damned to you and me, opens the EP. The band's obvious Black Sabbath and Dio influences are experienced here with smooth, melodic riffs and Prasec's powerful and commanding voice sounding like Bruce Dickinson reading a Fantasy novel. Next up is 'One Life', a raging slab of old school metal with singalong choruses. S

  Underground Rock act White Boy and The Average Rat Band have released their latest single 'Holy Cow'. The self-proclaimed Kings of the Underground return with their first single in over forty years since their self-titled debut in 1980. The band signed a record deal with Heaven and Hell Records in 2017, reissuing their debut, and later releasing the sophomore effort Love My Ride. 'Holy Cow' looks at the social and political unrest during the pandemic in 2020. The track is a southern rocker with the opening riff steeped in blues and distortion that squeals over lead vocalist Michael Matney's gospel sermon. Matney's deep, southern accent sounds like a wise man beyond his years to the backdrop of a slick rhythm section and pounding drums. Words By Anselm Anderson. SOCIAL MEDIA White Boy and The Average Rat Band

 Hello. How are you? The doctor said I’ll live. (Adam)  What can you tell me about Hellblind and the story behind how they formed ? All the band members were connected before Hellblind, the pandemic helped us to connect the dots and make the band a reality. Let’s just say ‘the scars aligned’. Any new band has to live through making a lot of mistakes and dealing with a fuck ton of disappointments. We’ve all been around the block a few times, so thankfully we don’t have to live through any of that. (Mark)  Hellblind is formed by former members of Pitchshifter , Romeo Must Die and, such as yourself. Stampin’Ground . How have you managed to combine those different sounds into Hellblind? We all bring something different to the table, which is why the band as a whole work so well together when we’re songwriting. We wanted to do something completely different and challenging for ourselves and our fans. (Mark) Hellblind have a new album out now called ‘ A Plague On All Your Houses ’, wha