Tears From Venere-Temporary Lives

Self-Release/Independent
2015

Tears From Venere is a up-and-coming hard & heavy/pop punk-infused Italian rock n' roll band that was formed in 2011 and is made up of vocalist/guitarist Vincenzo Santoriello, guitarist/backing vocalist Andrea Morelli, bassist/backing vocalist Simone Morelli and drummer Matteo Rendina. The self-produced (and ABSOLUTELY recommended!) "Temporary Lives" is Tears From Venere's first full-length release and this golden gem of an album(!) follows in the footsteps of several successful singles and a 2012 EP called "A Long Road For Happiness...". Packed from top to bottom with nine great tracks of pure rock n' roll fun, "Temporary Lives" opens by way of the catchy "Roulette" and doesn't take it's foot off of the pedal until the very end of "Frame And Glory"! In-between those two very cool numbers there is one hell of a wild & crazy rock n' roll party going on so it's probably a good thing that you set yourself up with a designated driver before hanging out with the four guys in Tears From Venere! When it comes to debut albums there are very few that are as much fun and well-structured as "Temporary Lives". Then again there are probably not a lot of Italian rock bands like Tears From Venere! On the one hand you're looking at a hard rock band with more than a few familiar influences. Some of these would be Guns N' Roses, Hanoi Rocks, Dangerous Toys, Alice Cooper, Ratt, New York Dolls, Velvet Revolver, and "Too Fast For Love"-era  Mötley Crüe. That's all fine and dandy I hear you saying and you are quite right with that assessment. There is nothing fancy about that lot of influences. Not at all. The thing is you are also looking at a group of heavy rockers that pulls off HUGE chunk out of bands like Eddie and the Hot Rods, (early) Green Day, Bad Religion, The Stooges, All, (early) The Offspring, and Social Distortion for consumption. What you ultimately end up with is a bar room-worthy Italian four-piece that is smashes together late eighties/early nineties pop punk, heavy rock, old-fashioned hard rock, seventies punk, and garage metal. And it's all been neatly bundled together by way of real rock and roll. How very thoughtful...

Kontrust-Explositive

Napalm Records
2014


"Explositive" is the latest release from Austria genre-mix and max/crossover rock band Kontrust. Having previously been exposed to this band's wild and crazy antics thanks to 2012's "Second Hand Wonderland" (http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2012/04/kontrust-second-hand-wonderland.html) I sort of knew what I was getting into with the band's new album. And by that I mean that I came in expecting the unexpected! For those who know and love Kontrust no further explanation will be needed so just buy "Explositive" and be done with it. For everyone else here is the deal (or, as best as we can (seeing as this one is way left of anything resembling normal heavy metal and/or rock!) we are going to try to explain the ins and outs of this "interesting" band on paper and just by peeking at the first number on "Explositive"!). On one hand the band is hook happy and spiritually free and on opener "Dance" lead singer Agata is as lively and carefree as the music itself. The group uses bouncy beats and the track's title almost lives up to it's name. Everything is right with the world it would seem. But, then the madness starts to rear it's unnerving face! For it seems as soon as you think you've got the band or the number figured out these hard metal guitar solos hack and slash their way through the door and that party you thought you were at turns into a bloodbath! Underground trash metal riffs worm their way deep into what was otherwise a pop song causing all kinds of hell to break loose! So, it's pop rock and street lethal hard and heavy metal doing the midnight tango while the world casually burns down around them! And that's just track one for you folks! For this bizarrely bouncy band, which incidentally was formed back in 2001 out of the ashes of a group called Suicide Mission and is known for dressing up in lederhosen for some odd reason for their live shows(!), nothing is really off limits and it's the old stand-by of "let's throw everything but the kitchen sink into our music and call it a day!". When it comes to the full-length "Explositive" it's not just the the sky that is the limit but the universe itself! By utilizing unusual instrumentals and brazenly abandoning any sense of logic when it comes to song titles and song lyrics Kontrust makes unusual music for unusual people. All of which would make it sound as if this album is nonstop hilarity in the making right? Somehow it's never that simple. While there might just be some strong ideas tossed about on their latest album for Kontrust it does not exactly translate into a sure-fire winner. Yes, fans should appreciate the latest body of work from Kontrust, but it's highly that "Explositive" will be the type of album that will attract casual listeners. This has all the hallmarks of an album that would be listened to once and then put aside for something more structurally sound. And that in and of itself was the problem I had with 2012's "Second Hand Wonderland". As weirdly charming and sonically disruptive as it was to the senses it did not make for a casual "hit once and then hit repeat" release which all but ruined it's long-term worthiness. Kontrust are very much like every one's favorite kooky relative that is fun to be with on holidays, but if you were to live with him or her ALL YEAR LONG the novelty of it all would quickly wear off. In a nutshell "Explositive" was fun the first time around, but like some things in life it's never the same experience the second time around....



 You can find Kontrost online at: http://www.kontrust.info/

Super Massive Black Holes-Calculations of the Ancients

Minotauro Records.
2014

Kitchen sink metal anyone? Canadian band Super Massive Black Holes has you covered. Formed back in 2010 by the band's two guitarists, Denver Bergreen (Anakronis) and Jake Reimer (Statue of Demur), and with a pair of EPs having presided this, their first full-length album, "Calculations of the Ancients", this is one bad that sure seems to live and breath by the motto "the more the merrier"! In this case that's a hairy buffalo's worth of inebriating beverages from the potent, pure grade alcohol that is death metal to the juicy mixes such as progressive rock, post-rock and free-form jazz! And when tackled by this up-and-coming metal band it seems to go from business to usual to all out chaos and destruction! Or to put it another way, this is about a 50/50 kind of release where Super Massive Black Holes are either capable of really nailing it or widely striking out! Naturally points are awarded for trying their hands at something as advantageous as "Calculations of the Ancients", but next time around could we possibly look into getting a lead vocalist with a bit more range?

Yerbadiablo-It doesn't Work

Atomic Stuff Records
2013

 The 13-track "It doesn't Work", which was recorded, mixed, engineered & mastered by Luca Gomedi at High Distortion Level Studio between April 2013 and October 2013 and is the follow-up release to (previously-reviewed as noted by following link) "Jester In Brick Lane" (http://metalmark.blogspot.com/search?q=Yerbadiablo), is the latest work of art from Italy's experimental rock/indie rock/garage rock (and one-time one-man project) outfit Yerbadiablo. First appearing on the scene sometime back in 2010, with multi-instrumentalist/founder (and as stated then lone member!) Nik (the Öyster) calling all the shots, the project has evolved into more of a full-fledged band resulting in a much more fluid and natural sounding affair. Although let's be clear up front one point. Even when stacked next to other (world-wide) experimental rock acts a band like Yerbadiablo is unlike any other act out there expanding the boundaries of rock and roll. And yet, as evidential by the growth and (what comes off as) natural progression between 2012's "Jester In Brick Lane" and last year's "It Doesn't Work", the group's latest still seems as if it's roots are firmly planted in this reality*! Now backed by a rather impressive group of players**, Nic (vocals, guitars, bass, percussion, synth, diablo toys) takes Yerbadiablo on many adventures over the course of these 13-tracks. The album's first single "Hemp Generation" is the opener on "It Doesn't Work" (which should really be called "It All Works"!) and it's pure/blissful garage rock and roll! It's a great way to start off an album like this and, while it's a bit rough (language-wise so heads up being you go blaring this one around Mom & Dad and/or the kiddos folks!), "Hemp Generation" (http://youtu.be/wnzqmPdyiJc) sets the course for what proves to be a amazing journey! Drawing upon their influences (really, it's a list of who's who that includes act both acknowledge and unacknowledged including Blue Öyster Cult, Tom Waits, The Black Keys, Green River/Motherlovebone/Pearl Jam, McLusky, The Rolling Stones, Infectious Grooves, El Tri, Ramones, Todos Tus Muertos, Pj Harvey, Deep Purple, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Sam the Sham, The Trashmen, MC5, The Stooges, (Detroit's) Death,  The Sonics,  Mudhoney, Grand Funk Railroad, King Crimson, Miles Davis, The Kinks, The Troggs, Lou Reed, The Clash, etc!!!!) Yerbadiablo makes easy work of early cuts like "El Viparo" (featuring tasty harmonica from Rick Martello this cut comes across as Iggy Pop collaborating with The Black Keys!!), the psychedelic "Eurozone" and post-grunge/alt. rocker "U.S.A. (United State of Alienation)" as they scamper along with (mellow) closure "Pink Clouds Purple Eyes" being the proverbial "X marks the spot" on the map! The sound patterns of the 60s & 70s end up being explored on "Black Beard" and (jazzy lounge/Spanish rocker) "Calavera y Veneno". Meanwhile "Ojos de Bruja" starts off like some sort of elevator (to hell!) music before switching gears towards something more (dangerous and dark) rock-oriented before "Rattlesnake Tail in the Belly of the Whale" opens the floodgates all the way with nothing but sick& sinister (and rustic and raw!) heavy metal pouring out! So, as you can see there are a shit-load and a half(!) styles coursing through this (garage rock) album and, unless you are unable to step forward and grab hold of something new and different, there remains "something for everyone" on "It Doesn't Work"! Highlights would be too many to list as Yerbadiablo makes everything work! Whether we're talking about the album's first single "Hemp Generation" (a saucy, sassy and sax-filled rock and roller!), (metal-like) "Rattlesnake Tail in the Belly of the Whale", (acid trip in the making?) "Eurozone" or the "Now, that's what I call punk rock!" track "Habemus Punk" (a gritty rocker that falls somewhere between 1970's New York punk of old and charming variety or early 80's Cali-punk) everything comes across as if it is perfectly suited for that particular genre! It's really hard to pull that off unless your fans first and you do everything with integrity and the mindset that you're paying homage to music you love for yourself first and then fellow-fans second! Yerbadiablo have really come a far way in a short amount of time so it will be really interesting to see where this act goes from here now that there is a (hopefully) steady/stable line-up in place! You can find out more on the group's Facebook page below and be sure to check out the video for the excellent "Hemp Generation"***!!  

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yerbadiablo/187711264596993

 *The group's last release (as can be read in my review!) left me "stranded somewhere in a state of confusion"! While their latest (which happens to be sung in both English and Spanish!) is still quite "wild and crazy", what with a track like "Imbunche" (heavily) relying on percussion (and being one of a few gems here sporting a cool ass sax solo!), the (almost there, but not quite) countrified/folk diddy "Diving Chamber" and the trashy punk rocker, "!Crash" serving as just a couple examples of the album's variety, it actually comes off as being (all-around) more grounded!

**Per the band's Facebook page the line-up also includes:
Pol-bass, vocals, guitars, percussion, sound fx, diablo toys 

Elvis-guitars, background vocals, percussion, diablo toys 

Gomez-drums, percussion, diablo toys  

Additional (guest) musicians include:  
Gabriele Bolognesi (sax on "Hemp Generation", sax & percussion on "Imbunche", clarinet on "Cazzillo Cramps", flute on "Black Bird". 

Il Demonio (guitar intrusion on "Ojos de Bruja") 

Ili (delay guitar improvisation on "Ojos de Bruja")

Rick Martello (harmonica on "El Viparo") 

***For the record I do not endorse the use of marijuana and/or any other narcotics so kids use your brains and think about the (potentially damaging) long-term effects before you do anything stupid!

Dirty Shirt-Freak Show

Est Ouest - Est Vest
2013

Released back in February of this year, "Freak Show", which was produced by Mihai Tivadar & Charles "Kallaghan" Massabo, is the third studio album from "rock/metal" band Dirty Shirt. This Romanian act features two vocalists in Dan "Rini" Crăciun and Robi "Metalistu" Rusz  and is rounded out by Mihai Tivadar (guitars, synths, programming), Cristi Bălănean (guitars), Pali Novelli (bass) and Vlad "X" Ţoca (drums). Now, it was actually Mihai Tivadar who sent me a email asking if I'd be willing to give "Freak Show" a listen and review it. I'm always happy to accommodate such requests (especially when bands say please!) although the difference between the email request's title of "Balkan Crossover Metal from Romania" and the actually reality of what Dirty Shirts is all about is a bit striking! On their latest release this band is technically "crossover" if you consider throwing everything and the kitchen sink into your music crossover. Describing the group's actually sound on "Freak Show" would be almost impossible as there is ANYTHING and EVERYTHING going on here and yes friends, it is rather freakin' awesome (and then some!) so sit back and enjoy this wild ride! Check this out. We have the "typical" sounds of rock and roll and heavy metal from what is said to be one of the most original bands in Romania. But then you're also treated to funk, punk, hardcore, thrash, death metal (mostly it comes crashing out in some of the album's sick & twisted vocal deliveries!) elctro, world music, Romanian traditional music, folk rock, rap-like rock and even some nu metal! Oh yeah, you better believe that it is crazy folks, but at it's heart it's still very much a "loud and proud" kind of release from a group that obviously has way more talent in their little individual pinkies then most groups have collectively! Is "Freak Show" the right fit for everyone? Maybe not, but it sure as hell is fun, interesting and very creative! It's one of those rare albums where it keeps you glued to your seat just waiting to see what pops up next. You can hear it yourself at the link below (and trust me you'll want to hear "Freak Show" for yourself as it's just too original to be missed) and maybe even find out what it is exactly that makes this band tick!

http://dirtyshirt.bandcamp.com/album/freak-show-2013