Tag Archives: Tom Donno

Palm Reader – Beside The Ones We Love

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Palm Reader are one of those bands who have been steadily bubbling under the surface in recent years. Their live shows have consistently impressed, and often outshine anything they’ve put down on record. Now whilst this is the common view with Palm Reader, wait until you hear Beside The Ones We Love (In At The Deep End). It may be considered a bit of a dark horse, but this is almost certainly looking like one of the albums of the year. Similar to the Architects release last year, this truly could be the album to explode them above surface and into the consciousness of a far larger audience.

Fundamentally the band are often tagged under the ‘Hardcore’ scene, but as soon as you throw this record on and ‘I Watched The Fire Chase My Tongue’ explodes into an absolute onslaught of noise you’ll immediately begin to draw comparisons to the Mathcore style of The Dillinger Escape Plan. That is because Palm Reader haven’t just produced stuff similar to what they’ve done before, they’ve taken their sound, expanded on it and struck absolute gold.

It doesn’t really let up either as ‘Pedant’ and ‘By The Ground We’ve Defined’ keep it rolling and pummelling into your face. Creatively on this record, Palm Reader have gone completely beyond what they’ve done in the past. You’ll listen back to this album a lot, not only because it is absolutely brilliant, but because with each listen you’ll still be surprised by each little twist and all the nuances, it constantly changes path down a road you don’t expect. Again this will easily ignite comparisons to the great Dillinger Escape Plan, but this album is that good, it truly is of that level. Because even despite all the frenzied powerful riffs throwing you all over the place there are still really anthemic chest pumping moments, most notably on ‘Sing Out, Survivor’.

When a band begins to build hype, and you’re not absolutely convinced on what they’re able to do to live up to it, there is no better feeling than hearing said band release a record which grabs that hype and throws a grenade in its mouth. Palm Reader’s stock will rise with the release of Beside The Ones We Love and it is absolutely what they deserve.

A phenomenal record from an extremely talented band.

9.0/10

Palm Reader on Facebook

TOM DONNO


Cherubs – 2 Ynfynyty

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If you’ve never heard of Cherubs before it is probably because their new record 2 Ynfynyty (Brutal Panda) is the first piece of music they’ve released in just under twenty years. Their aggressive brand of Noise Rock allowed them to build quite a cult following and their fans will be delighted to hear that none of that quality has been lost in all that time. Despite having a highly irritating album title to continuously type out; Cherubs have produced a record which is thoroughly engaging from start to finish. The band transition so seamlessly between heavier slower, Doom fuelled tracks to a blistering Punk rush of chaos, and to such a high standard, you’re left wondering what the hell took them so long to get down to writing some new music. You listen to this closely with their previous albums and it is clear that they have not really missed a beat.Continue reading →


Krakow – amaran

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When you’re handed an album for a Norwegian Metal band, it’s pretty safe for you to assume that you’ve been given a Death or Black Metal record with the fact that a new one pops up almost on a weekly basis. With Krakow’s amaran (Dark Essence) though (yeah they’re not from Poland…) what you’ve actually got is a dark and twisted Stoner/Metal album which revels in bleak down tuned slow riffs and heaviness. When some of the harsher vocals kick in you’ll quickly draw comparisons to their native Kvelertak, but Krakow are a different beast, mashing together several influences like Kvelertak do, but with less focus on the punkier aspects and more drive towards the Doomier side.

The album opens with ‘Luminauts’ which immediately sets the tone for what’s going on here. The mysterious and atmospheric opening to the track is an idea which they run with throughout the record. Each track builds and builds until it reaches a cacophony of sound at the end – and for the most part it works very well. The track ‘Pendulum’ becomes a perfect example of this. It actually sounds like the band were sitting there experimenting with different sounds before someone picked up a guitar and threw down into an awesome bouncy riff. They’ve made it sound effortless to produce, when in reality you know that it would have taken a lot of work.

Perhaps the only drawback here is the fact that you kind of know what you’re getting with each track. They’ve focussed on making each one such an epic it might not be the most accessible to casually pick up– old hardened Doom heads will absolutely love it though. There are some tracks on here as well, like ‘Ten Silent Circles’, where the band has actually looked to expand into quite a proggy sound. By this point you should be able to grasp that Krakow do not pull any punches when it comes to trying to deliver a truly varied soundscape – they’re clearly a talented bunch, with each track sounding very tight and well produced but this deviation isn’t one of the stronger points on the record.

Overall then, with amaran, Krakow have produced a solid Stoner/Doom Metal album which brings together a deluge of different influences whilst also stamping their own authority and sound on proceedings. It isn’t the kind of album you’ll casually pick up and be instantly hooked, but with patience and a good few repeat listens you’ll begin to appreciate the musicianship of the group and all of the little intricacies each track houses.

7.0/10

Krakow on Facebook

TOM DONNO


Haapoja / Dephosphorus – Collaboration LP

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Split albums are an excellent tool for bands to come together and unleash an onslaught of material which you may not necessarily have been familiar with beforehand – and with Collaboration LP (Handshake Inc., 7 Degrees Records, and Nerve Altarboth) Haapoja and Dephosphorus have not missed the trick at all. Whether intentional or not, these collaborative records encourage a certain level of competition as well – who goes harder than the other? The competitive edge has allowed both bands to absolutely raise their game – in this case it is Finland vs. Greece.

A really interesting element to this split LP is the fact that on both of the respective opening tracks the bands traded front men – and oddly enough both the opening tracks of each section are the better tracks.

The first portion of the album then comes from the Finnish maniacs in Haapoja, who shoot out of the blocks with a phenomenal level of aggression and calculated speed. Opening track ‘We See With Teeth’ builds and builds with this brilliantly executed Thrash style. In fact the pace never really lets up in their half of the album as they race through four tracks in just over ten minutes. The band mesh different influences together, sounding a bit like early Kvelertak – and as you reach the conclusion of their half you’ll find yourself thinking that Dephosphorus will seriously need to deliver something special after a breathless ten minutes, and to be fair to them they absolutely do.

Dephosphorus explode in to the track ‘Aika’ boasting the same level of aggression but with an added element of groove. Away from the first track, the vocals on their side of the LP sound like desperate cries, similar to the power and aggression delivered by the likes of Frank Carter in the early days of Gallows. The two bands on this record do sound similar, but where Haapoja deliver solely a smash mouth flurry of aggression, Dephosphorus smash that same style together with some slower, heavier moments which accentuates the groove.

One thing is for sure, with both bands you’re left salivating for more. This will almost certainly be an album which will sit under the radar, but give it a go – you will not be disappointed. Both bands deliver their music with such passion you cannot help but be taken in by its infectious nature as the quality of the output encourages repeat listens. Yeah the production is a bit shaky at times, but it gives the whole Collaboration LP that added bit of character, it is a raw and snarling beast.

7.5/10

Haapajo on Facebook

Dephosphorus on Facebook

TOM DONNO


Alright The Captain – Contact Fix

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Right off the bat, let’s be honest with each other. Everyone likes honesty right? This is a complete re-write of the review. Whilst that isn’t completely unusual, this is a complete re-write in the fact that the sway from negative perception towards positive has been massive. This is because Alright The Captain with Contact Fix (Independent/self-released) have created an album so bonkers and eclectic at points the only way to give it any real justice is to ensure you give it proper time.

The album is wholly instrumental, and like with so many other bands that have chosen to go down this unconventional route, the music simply HAS to be good. There’s no hiding behind the growls and screams of a big personality front man, instead there needs to be enough to grab your attention and maintain it – and one thing is for sure they’ve done this very well. The album is seven tracks long, and runs for just under 30 minutes. This compact running length encourages numerous playbacks, as you begin to listen intently for some of the smaller intricacies contained within each track. If you buy into the ‘Math-Rock’ subgenre title, then this is Math-Rock at its best. We’ve got synths galore amongst a combination between punk fuelled riffs and heavier moments.

At the absolute core of this music though is an unbelievable jazz influence. The drums in particular are testament to this, with both the opening track ‘Toaster Mouse’ and ‘French For Gnome’ the best examples. But this jazz influence isn’t solely contained within the music itself, but more the whole idea behind the album. You never really know which direction it is going to go, it sounds like an impromptu jam but it is actually a very well calculated beast. To be able to create this kind of impression is a skill in itself.

8.0/10

Alright The Captain on Facebook

TOM DONNO


Dethfox – Natural Media Teleforce

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There are many EP’s floating around out there in music world which just doesn’t achieve their purpose. The purpose will always be to introduce you to a band’s makeup and style in a short and snappy style, and with Natural Media Teleforce (Chaos Rural), Dethfox have at least got the memo. Short and snappy is absolutely the name of the game here, we’ve got five tracks clocking in at just over eight minutes long. It blitzes by so quickly, you’ll find yourself listening to it three or four times before you’ve really been able to grasp what Dethfox is all about.

Musically the band flies through with a gritty punk edge. The poor production on the album adds to the rough feel, and genuinely shows a level of promise. Word on the street is the band are heading towards releasing their first full length album later on in the year, so this serves excellently as a punchy preview. Vocally we begin to move away from the roughness being a positive, as it is an area which can almost certainly be worked on, sounding like someone doing an impression of Lemmy.

But again, it is an EP, an EP from a band who are clearly still finding their way with their sound. When the full album releases later in the year it is definitely one to check out, as Natural Media Teleforce does at least show a degree of promise.

6.0/10

Dethfox don’t “do” Facebook, but you can find them (and a stream of the EP) on the Dethfox website

TOM DONNO


Aversions Crown – Tyrant

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Aversions Crown already have a solid recent history of writing some absolutely bone crunching tunes – and throughout Tyrant (Nuclear Blast) they’ve absolutely continued with that form. From the off, the brutal riffs, extreme vocals and the absolute machine like precision of the drumming holds together to make a phenomenal sound. It has been an exceptionally strong couple of years for the Death and Extreme Metal scene, and this album does more than enough to be included in that conversation.

Perhaps the most interesting feature across the album is the band’s ability to slightly tweak their sound here and there with the view of trying to bring something fresh to the sound and introducing a whole new level. The opening track ‘Hollow Planet’ is more of what you’d expect from Aversions Crown, with riffs and solos played out at neck breaking speeds and a passionate vocal delivery, but as second track, ‘The Glass Sentinent’, progresses the band slow it down a notch and instead of the constant barrage of chaos, you get a more technical, heavier sound.

You’ll find yourself comparing some of the more calculated methodical moments to the likes of Meshuggah because it has that same feel to it. There is definitely an Industrial tinge to their approach as well; especially from Jayden behind the kit who delivers some absolutely mind boggling blast beats. What they’re doing isn’t groundbreaking enough to shake up the scene entirely, but they do what they do extremely well and points only to a potentially very bright future for the Aussies.

It often sounds clichéd, but this is also an album which really grows with each listen. It is through repeated listens, you are able to appreciate some of those intricate details in the music but the power of some of these tracks and with reports of excellent recent live shows, Aversions Crown are well and truly on the front line, fighting the cause for Australian Metal at the moment.

7.5/10

Aversions Crown on Facebook

TOM DONNO


The Banner – Greying

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The Banner are one of those bands who, if you reach in to the deepest recesses of your memory, showed real signs of promise in the early 2000’s. It is almost crazy to think that the band are already on their fifth studio album with Greying (Good Fight) because they have always been so under the radar, but you’ll be two tracks into this record and immediately you’ll feel that THIS is what they are capable of. Now, before all you diehard fans of the band start throwing us evil glares and shaking your finger in disregard, we know this has been a long six year wait, but with these being the results after such a length of time, The Banner could well see themselves becoming a blip on the radar after all.

Previous records from this band have all been relatively varied. The 2006 release Frailty (Ferret) is the album which many point to as their best due to its aggression and calculated fury, but with Greying the band have been able to blend this with a heightened emphasis on a far darker and brooding tone. The first four tracks on here contain elements which wouldn’t be misplaced on a Doom record, before it suddenly explodes into more of a Hardcore sound on ‘Unbaptized’. The darker edge throughout the record, really allows it to set itself apart from other Hardcore Punk bands – in fact to a degree where you should probably take the ‘Hardcore Punk’ label with a pinch of salt on this record.

Overall then, Greying is almost certainly The Banner’s finest album to date, with a maturity in the sound unrivalled compared to their other records. This is the sound of a band who have been able to truly collate together all of their strengths from previous releases and mashed them together into one big snarling beast of a record. One thing is for sure, Greying will surely get more people talking about The Banner a lot more, a fact which many of its closest fans feel should have happened many years ago.

8.0/10

The Banner on Facebook

TOM DONNO


dEMOTIONAL – Tarassis

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Obviously when reviewing an album, the music absolutely comes first. You should be able to just throw on a CD regardless of album titles and band names and give it a good spin. But when a band name is so bad, immediately laying down a level of cynicism, disappointment and all manner of sighing, it just doesn’t help the cause.

OK, now we’ve got that out of the way let’s get into the real meat of the album Tarassis (Dead End Exit) – is this an album full of stonking tracks or does the quality of music equate to the band name? Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is the latter.

It actually opens with a whole load of promise, as ‘Hero In Me’ makes a real statement with pummeling riffs and a strong interchange between the softer and harsher vocals delivering a real Metalcore style a la Bury Tomorrow. But it spirals, and really badly spirals, downhill from there. Every track just sounds like poorly delivered electronics-infused hardcore music, and a confused amalgamation of influences going on, which really hinders the music.

Almost every song on the album follows exactly the same structure; a mysterious opening building into a crescendo of heavy beatdown riffs. Considering just how many bands there are around at the moment delivering music springing from influences in Hardcore and Metalcore, there just needs to be an ounce of originality and something unique to try and allow you to stick out from the mix – frankly dEMOTIONAL just have not delivered this in any way.

4.0/10

dEMOTIONAL on Facebook

TOM DONNO


Unearth – Watchers Of Rule

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Unearth have been going now for just over fifteen years and one of their most significant qualities is their absolutely unrelenting consistency. Once again with Watchers Of Rule (eOne) the band have managed to curate one of the heaviest records you will hear all year long. Thirteen tracks may sound like quite a lot, but at around 40 minutes it truly is a blitzkrieg on your senses. They’re not the kind of band who, with each record, look to reinvent their genre or music, instead as you might expect they provide a shattering dose of chaos in a very Unearth fashion.

Opening track, ‘The Swarm’, was released to the masses slightly before the album release, and quite rightly it instigated a huge wave of anticipation for this record. It blends the absolute fury of intense blast beats and intense riffs with ridiculously savage breakdowns towards the end of the track. There is no time at all though to catch your breath as this pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the record. Since their last album we’re introduced to a new drummer as Nick Pierce takes up the sticks. Fear not though because what a performance! Production wise his kit (and the rest of the band) sounds absolutely spectacular and phenomenally tight. The riffs and the fury just never really let up, and as you get to over half way through the album you’ll become surprised that they’re still able to unleash sections which you just didn’t see coming. Considering that, as we’ve discussed, they’ve never really seemed interested in changing all that much up, their ability to still shock and surprise at every turn says so much about the ability contained within the band.

Front man Trevor Phipps is a bit of an underrated figure in Metal, and with Watchers Of Rule he has once again been able to stamp his authority on everything in his path and deliver a ridiculously passionate performance. Stand out tracks in particular for him include the eccentric ‘From The Tomb Of Five Below’ and the crushing ‘Trail To Fire’.

Overall then this is another beast of an album, and one we can only imagine might end up sneaking its way onto some of those end of year lists right at the very last. If you pick up this album expecting anything but the pummelling riffs, ridiculous drive and anger we all know and love about Unearth then you’ve clicked on the wrong thing.

8.0/10

Unearth on Facebook

TOM DONNO