It never fails to amuse me that one of the most intense hardcore punk bands in the country comes from the sunny seaside town of Falmouth in Cornwall, but that’s absolutely the case with Rash Decision. They are also becoming one of the most consistently enjoyable punk acts with every release and their latest long-player, Karoshi, is no exception (I’m not sure 20 minutes can really be regarded a long-player, but there are 14 songs here so maybe we’ll make an exception).
Now Rash Decision aren’t going to be winning any awards for originality with Karoshi. This is another short, sharp shock of a record with songs averaging about a minute and a half. The band play at breakneck speed and scream a lot, but their simplicity works in their favour. Once again the guitar work is an absolute highlight. Riffs are fast and furious and will earworm their way into your psyche without you even realising it. The music is equal parts catchy punk rock and thrash metal and it’s expertly executed and complimented by a lovely, clean mix that showcases how tight Rash Decision’s performance is.
But what really sticks with you is just how fun everything is. Despite razor-sharp performances from everyone, there’s a certain tongue-in-cheek nature to the song writing that will always put a smile on your face. If it isn’t the bands non-stop use of profanity or bouncy bass-lines, it’s their snotty vocal delivery and use of overly confrontational quotes and samples. It’s not exactly clever, but it is nice hearing a band with a sense of humour and it always comes across as amusing instead of offensive.
Karoshi isn’t doing anything the band haven’t already done before, but Rash Decision have absolutely nailed their sound down so well that a divergence in style at this point in their careers would feel unnatural and forced. Rash Decision are a hardcore punk band who like to play loud and fast and have a good time doing it and in this political climate, that’s an absolute Godsend. We need bands like Rash Decision because everyone needs a place to vent and have a bloody good time doing so. Thanks lads – I needed this.
8/10
Rash Decision’s Karoshi is out now and available to buy on limited edition vinyl direct from the band.
Sheffield thrash-punkers Psython return for their second long-player HATRED, which is apparently an acronym for Hopelessly Aware That Rage Engenders Despair. The band have now expanded into a five piece and clearly haven’t lost their sense of humour since …Outputs because HATRED contains a song called Chai Latte.
Since we last visited Psython, we were certainly impressed by their no-nonsense, blistering approach to making daft, catchy, thrash bangers and that’s certainly still the case on HATRED. There’s actually a bigger focus on just being a band that doesn’t fuck around and gets the job done and HATRED is a more enjoyable record as a result.
Album highlights include opener Jörmungandr which despite being 5 and a half minutes long, never takes its foot of the gas. Battery Life, Teeth, the aforementioned Chai Latte and Hashtrap are some of the best songs the band has produced and it’s because they’re loaded with great riffs and solos and get the job done. If you like your music fast and aggressive then Psython certainly have you covered and then some.
Unfortunately in the few moments where the album falls down, it’s due to the same reasons as their debut. HATE is more of a mid-paced track and while it’s a perfectly serviceable, stompy little number, the bridge feels like it meanders and kills the momentum as a result. The same problem appears on Ten Pounds and One Indeed. It would have been more effective if Psython got to their solos quicker during their middle eights and just spent more time being fun.
Then there’s album closer Old Man which takes the crown of the only bad song on HATRED. Old Man is the slowest track on the album and it feels overlong and lacking enough ideas to warrant being 9 and a half minutes long. A shame because despite some unfocussed moments during a few of the album’s bridges, HATRED is a great thrash album that deserves your attention.
Psython’s HATRED is definitely a great follow-up to the band’s debut. It’s fast, catchy, aggressive and fun and certainly a great addition to any thrash fan’s record collection. Despite a weak closing track and a few moments where the songs lose momentum, Psython’s song-writing has definitely improved and when the band are going balls to the wall they’re just untouchable.
8/10
Psython’s HATRED is out now and can be bought on limited edition CD direct from the band.
Evile have announced that they are delaying their shows in September because they’re not up to standard.
The band have finally chosen their new lead guitarist but this was only decided recently so the band have not had the amount of time they’d hoped for to rehearse for the September shows. These shows were already delayed and rescheduled once after Ol Drake left the band back in August last year.
Evile have also promised that an announcement regarding their new lead guitarist will happen, “in the near future”. Everyone with tickets to the rescheduled shows will still be granted entry when the new dates are announced.
Evile released their last album Skull in May 2013. As it turns out, this will be the last release under Earache Records as the band are no longer with the label or their management. I suspect a Pledge Music campaign might be around the corner.
In Search of Sun is a 5 piece heavy metal band from London making the sort of music that would make Panic Cell, Five Finger Death Punch and Avenged Sevenfold proud. Previously known as Driven, the band have gone through a stylistic change that sees them moving away from their earlier metalcore roots (hence the change in band name) and The World is Yours mark’s the band’s debut album.
The World is Yours is an album built around big vocal melodies and bass-heavy grooves. The songs are structured in a pretty traditional manner that favours verses and choruses so don’t expect anything too progressive from the band.
What really makes the music on The World is Yours shine is the wonderful vocal work by frontman Adam Leader (surely the most appropriate name for a lead singer ever). Leader has a beautifully flexible voice that moves between abrasive yell and soaring croon with ease and you can really visualise the vocalist commanding a massive crowd. It helps that Leader’s melodies and superbly strong and the choruses on the album will stick with you long after the album has finished.
The band are also pretty comfortable dropping in some thrash influences into their music with the lovely galloping shred at the start of 51 56 being a great highlight as well as the opening riff to Idle Crown. These moments of guitar prowess put In Search of Sun in a league of their own and its riffs like these that the band need to focus on bringing to the forefront more often.
Bizarrely the instrumentation often feels quite sparse. Despite having two guitarists in their midst, In Search of Sun often let the lead guitars jangle gently over a thunderous bass-line like at the beginning of In Search of Sun (yes, there’s a song confusingly named after the band). This wouldn’t be such an issue if the song was actually doing something a little more gripping. In Search of Sun are very keen to fix their tempos into a rather unimaginative mid-pace that never really allows the music the freedom to grab you by the balls and let loose with a really rocking riff. This really damages songs like In Search of Sun because the track is drawn out for over 6 minutes and despite an impressive guitar solo it rarely moves away from its quite traditional structure.
The major problem with In Search of Sun is just how similar they sound to many other modern metal bands bothering the charts right now. This is a real shame because it’s clear the band have a knack for writing a decent riff and a great chorus but they need to be more daring to drop into different tempos and get more adventurous with their guitar work because bassist Faz Couri often has to carry the songs. In fact, Couri is so prominent in the mix that I wouldn’t be surprised if he was one of the band’s main songwriters.
The World is Yours is a strong modern metal offering from a promising new band. It often succeeds thanks to the massive choruses courtesy of vocalist Adam Leader but the music is too unimaginative to hold your attention for the full 48 minutes. In Search of Sun could really do with stepping up the pace a bit because as To the Axe manages to prove in its fifth minute, the band is vastly more exciting to listen to when they get nice and thrashy. It’s moments like this that justify the band having 5 members because it’s too often the case that the music is very minimalist like in the album’s ballad Skin. In Search of Sun have all the potential to be an incredibly exciting band but at the moment they haven’t quite figured out how to do this.
6/10
In Search of Sun’s The World is Yours is released through Raging Demon Entertainment and Plastic Head Distribution on September 1st.
Zoltar Speaks are a metal band from Somerset that fuse a sound similar to that of Avenged Sevenfold with a more modern streak that brings to mind Panic Cell and Lamb of God. The difference is the band favour singing instead of screaming and their vocalist Louise Body definitely takes some cues from In This Moment’s Maria Brink. The band released their debut album ‘Save As I Save’ at the tail-end of last year and now they’re gearing up to give it a wider release in April.
‘Save As I Save’ is formed from a nice blend of modern and classic metal that is lead by the accomplished guitar work of Daniel Pratt and Jason Coles. The two guitarists become the most enjoyable element of the band’s sound and it’s clear that they have the ability to deliver a great series of thrashy riffs. Songs like ‘I’m Coming’ and ‘Cannot Be’ are also given some rather impressive solos which really set them apart from a lot of the other songs on the record.
Outside of the extremely polished guitar work we start to enter some problems. The main issue that plagues ‘Save As I Save’ is it all sounds a bit flat. Vocalist Louise Body is nothing special to listen to and while she can certainly hold a note she often finds her comfort zone and sticks with it. This means a lot of higher range melodies that all sound very similar from song to song. The real problem with Body’s voice is when she decides to scream. Body sounds like a woman doing an impression of a metal scream and the noise that comes from her mouth sounds like it’s coming from her throat and not her diaphragm. It’s not a pleasant noise to listen to and if she really is using her throat then she’s going to cause herself some damage in the future.
The real casualty of the album’s rather limp delivery is Simon Roocroft’s bass which is so low in the mix you can barely hear it. ‘Save As I Save’ is a record that could desperately use a heavy dosage of bass to help punctuate the riffs and the drum work to make the whole listening experience feel brighter and more energetic. What you get instead is an album that’s under-produced, one-dimensional and delivered in the most passable way possible.
Zoltar Speaks are clearly a group of fairly talented musicians because outside some unnecessary metalcore chugga-chuggas like in ‘I Can, I Can’t’ there is a fair amount of decent melodies, riffs and and solos on offer throughout their debut album ‘Save As I Save’. Their main problem is their rather mediocre delivery which lacks the power and intensity that a lot of their peers are managing. This leads to an unfortunate vibe of averageness that means ‘Save As I Save’ will likely get listened to once and then stuck on a shelve for many years to collect dust.
We returned to co-host Catbird’s Sunday Roasting beside James Begley of Hybris on the 24th of November 2013. Below is a list of our picks for the show and links to online stores that allow you to purchase the releases they are featured on. We thoroughly recommend you scope out the bands we featured as we truly believe they are some of the best UK rock and metal artists doing the rounds:
Hearts Under Fire – You Are: Convenience (buy here)
Old Skin – Hag//Ridden (buyhereplease)
Esoteric Youth – Senicide (buyhere)
Black Spiders – Stick it to the Man (buy here)
Tempestora – Relentless (buy here. Album review live on this website 26/11/2013)
Tune into Catbird’s Sunday Roasting next week for a special interview with Jamie Lenman as well as a live acoustic sessionCANCELLED AND BEING MOVED TO A DIFFERENT DATE. It’s going to be special.
In what has to be one of the biggest downers ever, Ol Drake has decided to leave Evile. As lead guitarist, Ol Drake has helped mould Evile’s sound into something that is truly unique and helped the band stand out as something more than just a thrash-revival band.
The reason for Drake’s departure is an honest and simple one and one that many a touring band in this day and age can relate to:
“I’ve reached a point where I want a family/kids, a house, a steady and definite income and everything in between, and in regard to my personal preferences, a touring band’s income and uncertainties, in the state that I feel they would continue to be in, has become incompatible with how I feel and what I want/need.
There is no animosity between the rest of the band and I. This is purely a personal and financial decision I’ve been mulling over for a while and I wish them all the best for the future.”
It would appear that Evile are planning to continue without Drake but no announcement has been made as to who will replace him. UK Scumscene wishes both Ol Drake and Evile all the best for the future.
In At The Deep End Records have revealed a very special 10″ vinyl release to commemorate their 50th release. The record which will release on Halloween is themed around Leeds thrashcore zombie loonies Send More Paramedics featuring rare tracks as well 3 covers by In At The Deep End artists past and present.
Check out the full track list:
1. Send More Paramedics – Zombiefied (Re-recording)
2. Send More Paramedics – 100 Fighting Dogs (My War cover)
3. Send More Paramedics – Revenants
4. Send More Paramedics – Send More Paramedics
5. Gallows – Zombie Crew (10″ vinyl version only)
6. Feed The Rhino – Blood Fever
7. Wounds – Sever
The digital release will also feature a re-recording of 245 Trioxin by Send More Paramedics.
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