ALBUM REVIEW: A-Z – A-Z


From the opening strains of guitar riffage, I feel like I’ve been transported back to my teenage years (the eighties / early nineties). Then I’m like, is that a cowbell? Surely not? But ZOMG, I’m having flashbacks. The hair. The jeans. My Samik bass. By two minutes in, I’m singing the refrain from ‘Trial By Fire’. This is an instant in the feelings. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Moths – Space Force


Moths, the five-piece stoner/prog outfit from San Juan, Puerto Rico, take a voyage into space on their debut LP. As cosmic and inter-galactic as the results are, this mission perhaps required more focus, more direction and a tad more discipline. The myriad metal genres, frequently-changing time signatures and disparate musical sections idiosyncratically grafted together into songs can make it hard to grasp or nail down any plan behind it all.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Imperial Triumphant – Spirit of Ecstasy


When the death metal scene blew up in the early nineties, it was exciting to watch fresh new blood delivering a much-needed kick up the backside to many lethargic established acts. However, with little room for growth and proliferation of bands all covering the same ground, stagnation, and panic soon set in. Just as their predecessors had found, forward-thinking and experimentation were often frowned upon while the alternative was perceived as merely playing safe or laziness. It was survival of the fittest in a catch-22 situation and the fans were a fickle and unforgiving judge.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Ashenspire – Hostile Architecture


Ashenspire follow up their debut album Speak Not of The Laudanum Quandary (2017) with this second release for Code666 Records. Lyrically Hostile Architecture is themed around the return of fascism in our mainstream politics, and the alienation of society created by the ever-increasing vast wealth gap between the working classes and the elite. And instrumentally the record is one of the most bizarrely original creations of music I’ve heard in some time.Continue reading


INTERVIEW: Mark Tremonti on Frank Sinatra, Raising Money for Charity, and Alter Bridge and Creed News


Ghost Cult had the honor of chatting with Mark Tremonti of Tremonti, Alter Bridge, and Creed fame on the eve of the release of his new solo albumTremonti Sings Sinatra! The album is not only a smashing covers album paying tribute to “The Chairman of The Board” – Frank Sinatra, but also with a mission to raise money and awareness of The National Downs Syndrome Society. Mark discussed his inspiration for this project – his daughter, his lifelong obsession with Frank Sinatra, his love of Jazz, how he chose the songs, working with Sinatra’s former bandmates and producers, a potential sequel to the album, and updates on both Alter Bridge and Creed!

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ALBUM REVIEW: Mark Tremonti – Tremonti Sings Sinatra


 

Mark Tremonti has cemented himself as one of the staple musicians within the hard-rock scene over the past 3 decades with Creed, Alter Bridge & his own project Tremonti. With this repertoire of music projects, this album is still probably the last thing anyone expected from the man. Covering the ageless classics from Frank Sinatra himself is Tremonti Sings Sinatra (NDSS).

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ALBUM REVIEW: LaMacchia – Thunderheads


For every rush of adrenaline there’s the eventual lull. For each euphoric high there’s the comedown to follow. Thunderheads (Aqualamb Recordings) — the debut record of LaMacchia — plays like the 3am winding down of a night of excess. Thrills and sensual desires wedded to a shadow of sadness and introspection.

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ALBUM REVIEW: -S- – Dom, w którym mieszkał Wąż (A House Where Dwelled A Snake)


It’s time to enter a very dark place. Poland’s mysterious and enigmatic doom-jazz-post rock-funk project -S- return with their first full-length release since their 2013 untitled debut. Led by composer, bassist, vocalist Patyr, with Grzegorz supplying drums, Dom, w którym mieszkał Wąż (A House Where Dwelled A Snake) (I, Voidhanger) is like nothing else you’re likely to hear, and that includes the group’s debut. The album is four tracks and forty-one minutes of oppressive, threatening, slithering, funky doom. If that sounds like a wild trip, it is.

And don’t forget those clarinets!Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Animals As Leaders – Parrhesia


Animals As Leaders started as a project by virtuoso guitarist Tosin Abasi, after his former label Prosthetic Records asked him to create a solo LP, following the end of his band Reflux. After taking a year out to study and immerse himself in his guitar playing, he put together the group who have now been releasing music for over a decade through to Parrhesia (Sumerian) their fifth album.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Jinjer – Walflowers


Jinjer is a Ukrainian four-piece act that has captivated and charmed varying music scenes all around the world. Just over a decade ago, the band started to make waves in their own country and around Europe when they released their EP Inhale, Don’t Breath. The vibrancy and viciousness of their Modern Metal sound stood out and has led them to be one of the most noteworthy bands in the genre. Now they are getting ready to release their fourth full-length album, Wallflowers (Napalm Records) and the expectations are high. Their determination, creativity, and uniqueness has many wondering if this new album can be a crown on top of the quartet’s budding stardom.

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