album Reviews album of the month
Dead Leaves
Opeth
Mastodon
Superheavy
Liberation
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
A&M/Universal
4/5
3.5/5
4.5/5
3.5/5
Cities on the Sea
Cities on the Sea is a gorgeous collection that instantly demands attention, with tracks that focus on love lost, gained and dreamt of. Powerful vocals by Matt Joe Gow, deep and possessing, are the backbone of the album, supporting delicate and emotive instrumentals from his former backing band and now partners, The Dead Leaves. Gow’s bluesy, baritone voice would not be out of place on a country record, though the full backing of the band brings another dimension to the sincerity of his words and music. Guest vocalist Emma Louise lends a few notes in ‘Changing’ - a graduated track repeating one line with loops and harmonies. The melancholy repetition and minimalistic approach bring the focus back to Gow’s vocals and the emotion he packs into and between each note. For fans of Lee Kernaghan, Buckley Ward, Jez Mead. ~Jess Saxton
Fruit Bats Tripper Sub Pop
3.5/5
Eric D. Johnson leader of Fruit Bats and sometimes Shin – has an innate gift for fashioning dreamy folk melodies and wandering song structures. Tripper, the band’s fifth release, is cheerful and summer-esque on the whole, melding the contemplative with the more direct. ‘So Long’ and ‘Wild Honey’ are hazy in aesthetic and almost brooding in tone and feel, while the pleasant ‘Tangie and Ray’ reveals a more spaced out Fruit Bats, than previously heard. ‘Dolly’ is paint by numbers post-millennium folk revival – quaint organ included. But while Tripper showcases Johnson near the top of his game, it sometimes errs on the twee side. ~Liam Demamiel
Kasey Chambers Storybook Liberation
4/5
While it’s easy to label cover albums of ‘inspirational favourites’ as exercises in self-indulgence, done well they give entertaining insight into a musician’s creative essence. Storybook – released as a companion album to her autobiography– is Kasey Chambers’ case in point. And it seems her artistic soul dwells amongst history’s classier exponents of the country/rock genre. Hardly out of her league, Chambers – with collaborative assistance from Paul Kelly, Ashleigh Dallas and even Jimmy Barnes – does justice to the likes of Gillian Welch, Townes Van Zandt and Gram Parsons, winning over at least one former fence sitter in the process. While Chambers’ heartfelt female sentiment on Paul Kelly’s harrowing ‘Everything’s Turning to White’ impresses, her moving account – with brother Nash – of Fred Eaglesmith’s ‘Water in the Fuel’, alone justifies the album price. ~Craig Faulkner
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The Hunter
Heritage
Opeth’s tenth studio album marks a significant change in direction for the Swedish metal veterans. Heritage is the result of mastermind Mikael Akerfeldt’s desire to steer the band away from their progressive death metal roots. Harsh vocals and the trademark dynamics between heaviness and haunting melody have been pushed aside in favour of 70s-inspired prog rock and the bleak, folky undertones of previous albums. The production is warm and punchy; the musicianship uniformly excellent. However, in the songwriting department, Heritage staggers. Several of the songs are awkwardly structured, punctuated by aimless self-indulgence and spacey atmospherics, dulling the capacity to digest and recall specific moments in each song. After a ghostly, piano-based intro, ‘The Devil’s Orchard’ kicks into gear - a commanding song of tight progressive rhythms, ethereal melodies and excellent vocals from Akerfeldt. ‘Slither’ is a straightforward rocker with a powerful groove and silky guitar solo. These two songs are the highlights on an uneven album. ‘Famine’ is another potential gem, marred by meandering detours. Heritage is by no means a failure: it is a brave experiment with flashes of brilliance. Unfortunately it lacks the inspired songwriting and fluidity that has defined Opeth’s long and remarkable career. ~Luke Saunders
Dream Theater
A Dramatic Turn of Events Roadrunner Records
3.5/5
Progressive metal juggernaut Dream Theater return with their eleventh studio album in a career spanning two decades. Despite the departure of drumming extraordinaire and founding member Mike Portnoy, the remaining members have steadied the ship with a focused album of typically bombastic prog-metal. Several of the songs crack the 10 minute barrier, effortlessly gliding between intricate progressive metal and soaring melody. The virtuoso talents of the individuals, and their collective experience and chemistry as a band, combine to create an inspired sound. The instrumental sections are jawdropping in their complexity and liquidflow. The epic ‘Outcry’ features incredible interplay between guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess. ‘Lost Not Forgotten’ is another lengthy song, building slowly before morphing into a labyrinthine arrangement of technical mastery and song-craft. James LaBrie’s voice will continue to divide Dream Theater fans and potential converts. His vocals border on syrupy and the lyrics can be cheesy, which at times detracts from the phenomenal musical backdrop. But LaBrie’s passion and energy are undeniable. A Dramatic Turn of Events is a return to form for Dream Theater, rebounding from line-up turbulence and a period of uncertainty to deliver their strongest album in recent years. ~Luke Saunders
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With their fifth album, Mastodon have created their most streamlined, rockoriented offering yet, veering away from the conceptual masterwork and dazzling prog-metal of their critically acclaimed Crack The Skye album. ‘Black Tongue’ is a typically robust opener, capped off with an elegantly melodic guitar solo. Lead single ‘Curl of the Burl’ is the most accessible song the band has written and is likely to raise eyebrows and polarise fans. The standard rock structure, loaded with hooks, strips away the sludgy weight and delivers a catchy stoner rock anthem. Guitarist Brent Hinds’ melodic vocal delivery continues to improve, contrasting with the hoarse vocals of Troy Sanders. The powerful ‘Dry Bone Valley’ and ‘Áll the Heavy Lifting’ are particularly memorable from a vocal and musical standpoint. The only misstep is the bizarre ‘Creature Lives’ - a forgettable, drawn-out experiment that sits awkwardly with the rest of the album. But this is quickly rectified by the stunning trio of songs that round out The Hunter; highlighted by the sonic power of ‘Spectrelight’, tricky rhythms of ‘Bedazzled Fingernails’ and the melodic sensibilities of ‘The Sparrow’. The Hunter’s straightforward approach is offset by a taut collection of addictive rock songs and the unique metal sound of a band in continuous creative upswing. ~Luke Saunders
anthrax
Worship Music Nuclear Blast/Riot Entertainment
4.5/5
With many line-up changes over the past few years, including three different singers, it’s a wonder this album ever saw the light of day. Thank God for the Big 4 tour. No doubt the rejuvenation of thrash helped kick Anthrax in the ass and get this album on the shelves. The album starts off strong with ‘Earth on Hell’, a classic addictive thrash anthem, followed by ‘The Devil You know’ and ‘Fight’em ‘Til You Can’t’, two songs that have been making their way around the internet for some time. From start to finish the album delivers, with slapping bass lines, killer drumming and some of the band’s finest guitar work, not to mention Joey Belladonna’s vocals. His unique voice and amazing range has helped make this one of the band’s definitive albums. Stand-out tracks are ‘I’m Alive’, and seven-minute masterpiece, ‘In the End’, one of the bands greatest songs ever! If you love the work Anthrax did in the early 80s, you’re going to love Worship Music! ~Cameron Edney
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Superheavy
Industry heavyweights Mick Jagger, Joss Stone, Damian Marley, Dave Stewart and Bollywood composer A.R Rahman come together to create a chemistry of utter chaos, and with its colossal production qualities, this album is about as fine-tuned as you can get. Jagger and Stone bring the sass with their overlapping acrobatic vocal deliveries, bringing bluesy, soulful melodies to an uplifting blend of world music meets stadium rock. An eclectic convergence between ethnic genres, Superheavy explores African choirs, Indian orchestras, island reggae and even dabbles in electronica. Single ‘Miracle Worker’ is subtle, reggae pop at its sweetest, while the aptly titled ‘Energy’ is the obvious showstopper of the album. Although Jagger adds a certain impertinent texture, his age shows, with his voice sounding whiny in parts, and the erratic wash of multiple genres proves too busy at times. ~Charli Hutchison
Justice
Audio, Video, Disco Ed Banger/Because Music
4/5
After conquering the world of dance music with their seminal Cross album, French duo Justice deliver a tribute to 70s stadium rock from an electro house perspective, blurring the line between DJ and rock star, in their highly anticipated return. While Cross was a reaction to synthpop, Audio, Video, Disco is more about dubstep - lighter in tone and offering fewer 120bpm banging tracks than anything these guys have done before. AVD still retains the signature Justice sound of fuzzed-out glitchy synth bass lines and pounding, constant, kick-snare beats, but with more melody - be it through vocal lines, guitars or synths, with emphasis on catchy hooks that would not sound out of place on an early 80s AOR radio station. Maybe they’ve been listening to more Queen than Daft Punk lately. These tracks would work in a club, a festival or a house party and if you’re a fan you’ll love this album. Definitely a highlight release of 2011. For fans of: 70s rock, Boys Noize, Daft Punk, MGMT ~Byron Struck
Wolf Gang Suego Faults Atlantic/Warner
3/5
This debut album by UK one-man band Max McElligot is pure experimental pop – the love child of MGMT and David Bowie. The album kicks off with the catchy ‘Lions in Cages’ which sets the scene for the album’s electro-pop fusion. From there, it morphs into tripped-out haze, complete with space-soundings synths and building choruses. ‘The King and All of His Men’, with its falsetto lyrics and memorable chorus line, is the standout in a sea of nondescript songs. Perhaps McElligot needs to go further than simply replicating past successes in the genre. ~Shelby Houghton
reverb magazine issue #064 — November 2011 33