Review: Saturna & Electric Monolith – Higher Selves

Ripple Music will release the fourth chapter of their popular Turned to Stone split albums on April 15.  This series has been stellar and a great way to discover new bands. My favorite thus far was Chapter 2: Masamune & Muramasa featuring Howling Giant and Sergeant Thunderhoof. Well, let me just say that volume 4 has now dethroned it. Titled Higher Selves, it shines the spotlight on two bands I’d never heard of, both hailing from Barcelona, Spain and playing an outstanding blend of classic rock for the modern crowd. The first side of the record introduces Saturna, and Side 2 features Electric Monolith. And man, what an album this is!

Channeling the spirit of ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll, Saturna delivers riffage galore, southern-inspired grooves with rich and textured vocals. The opener, “Keep Me Trying”, is a terrific showcase of what this band is all about and sets the tone for both sides of the split. The bar is already high, but “Following the Sun” continues to impress; a beautiful, soulful number with acoustic guitars that really add a special shine to the song. “Drowning” was the single that I first heard and infinitely piqued my curiosity. A fantastic song with tremendous vocals where the band flows like crystal-clear water playing together. Maybe my favorite track of the entire record. “Don’t Run” has a lovely piano intro and is reminiscent of vintage Bob Seger at times. Gentle and dreamy guitars drive this one home and it’s over far too soon.

On to Side B with Electric Monolith. Vocals are higher-pitched, the music is more psychedelic but wears its classic rock roots on its sleeve. “By My Side” is a blues-tinted rock song with echoes of Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar and Black Sabbath vibes. It’s followed by “I Hope You Feel Better”, a short and exquisite instrumental evoking a sad and lonely night. “Hold Me Again” picks up the pace, a chorus-heavy song with duelling guitars and a persistent riff. “So Lonely Drying” draws its inspiration from Sabbath’s “Planet Caravan”, a trippy percussion-driven tune. The curtain comes down with “Nightmares”, the single that was released and longest track on the album that you won’t get tired of listening to. It closes the split with a nice bow: a perfect song in every aspect, a synonym of the term “classic rock”, and my fave on this side of the record.

What an incredible pairing this is! I’ve become an instant fan of both bands and cannot wait to hear full-length albums from each of them. Ripple Music is spoiling us classic rock enthusiasts these days, first with Stone Axe’s Stay of Execution and now along the same vein with Turned to Stone: Higher Selves. This latest chapter drops on April 15 and you should immediately pre-order your copy! Whether you’re into classic rock, heavy rock, psychedelic rock, or just love retro rock, this one has it all. Saturna and Electric Monolith will make a big splash in 2022, mark my words. Both bands have a brilliant musical future ahead of them. Long live Rock ‘n’ Roll!

Ripple Music’s Bandcamp page for Turned to Stone - Higher Selves: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/turned-to-stone-chapter-4-higher-selves 

Review: Alunah - Strange Machine

Hailing straight out of Sabbath city in Birmingham, UK, Alunah first came to my attention in 2018 with a superb rendition of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” off of their excellent Amber & Gold EP. It marked the arrival of new vocalist Siân Greenaway. They followed it up with Violet Hour in 2019, an album which I liked but that didn’t blow me away. The quartet will release their sixth LP, Strange Machine, on April 15 via Italian label Heavy Psych Sounds Records.

Things get going in style with the title track, a catchy, spacey song and Greenaway’s vocals are a thing of beauty here amid the percussion-driven, guitar-laden atmosphere. “Over the Hills” is a faster and solid track that gets you nodding your head. They slow it down a bit for “Fade into Fantasy” which showcases a different facet of the band with a very accessible song. Love this one! “Broken Stone” is a heavy, killer song infused with psychedelic vibes, and certainly a highlight of the album. The aptly-titled “Psychedelic Expressway” has a vintage psych sound full of infectious rhythms. A contender for my favorite song on this LP. “The Earth Spins” features guest guitars from Shane Wesley of Crowbar fame putting his spin on the trademark Alunah sound and a terrific song at that. It morphs into the short “Silver”, which proves that all that glitters isn’t always gold; a truly awesome song with very cool guitars. “Teaching Carnal Sins” is soulful and bluesy at times and yet another fantastic cut where Greenaway shows how much of a strong presence she has as a frontwoman. The Strange Machine winds down with what is in my opinion the best song on the album and one of Alunah’s all-time greatest with the groovy “Dead Woman Walking.” This one has it all from a sing-along chorus to the band sounding like a well-oiled machine.

Alunah delivers a phenomenal album that doesn’t have a single dud on it. By now they are masters of their craft and the songwriting on this LP has evolved and matured to elevate the band’s status and push them even farther in the stratosphere to reach the masses. Full of doom, heavy rock, psychedelia, hints of prog, and experimentation, Strange Machine is an album that will make the rounds on year-end lists, I’m sure. Pre-order your copy today, folks; this one deserves to be played loud!

Heavy Psych Sounds’ Bandcamp page for Strange Machine: https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/alunah-strange-machine

Alunah’s Bandcamp page: https://alunah.uk/music 

Review: KISS - Off the Soundboard: Virginia Beach 2004

KISS, a band that needs no introduction—and my favorite band of all-time—have just released the second volume of their Off the Soundboard series dedicated to putting out authorized bootleg concerts in their entirety from various eras of the band’s storied career. This time around, we go back to July 25, 2004 in Virginia Beach for their Rock the Nation Tour. The first official live bootleg KISS release, Off the Soundboard: Tokyo 2001, which I’ve reviewed here, was phenomenal and one of the band’s best live releases ever. It even wound up in my top five albums of 2021. This one isn’t as outstanding, but it’s still very much a worthwhile release.

Off the Soundboard: Virginia Beach 2004 consists of KISS’s current lineup of Paul Stanley on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Gene Simmons on bass and lead vocals, Tommy Thayer on lead guitar and vocals, and Eric Singer on drums and vocals. This lineup has been together for nearly twenty years at this point and they form a very cohesive unit. To all the disgruntled KISS fans out there still moaning about Ace and Peter being gone and that it’s not KISS without them, give it a rest already; this is the longest running lineup the band has had. I love Ace to death, but Tommy does a great job on guitars and is a hell of a nice guy. But I digress. Back to the review. This show served as the basis for one of the two concerts filmed/recorded for KISS’s Rock the Nation Live! DVD from 2005. The DVD showcased footage from the Virginia Beach set as well as the Washington, DC concert. If you’re wondering what differs in the setlist from the DVD versus the Soundboard CDs/vinyl, only two songs have been swapped. On the DVD you have “Love Her All I Can” and “Parasite” which have made way for “King of the Night Time World” and “Psycho Circus” on this release. “King” is one of my personal favorites so I’m thrilled to have it here, while I miss not having “Love Her All I Can” which the band doesn’t perform that often live. The order of the setlist differs slightly between the Soundboard release and the DVD from 2005. The setlist is as follows:

Disk 1:

1.     Love Gun

2.     Deuce

3.     Makin’ Love

4.     Lick It Up

5.     Christine Sixteen

6.     Tears Are Falling

7.     She

8.     Got to Choose

9.     I Love It Loud

10.  I Want You

Disk 2:

1.     Psycho Circus

2.     King of the Night Time World

3.     War Machine

4.     100,000 Years

5.     Unholy

6.     Shout It Out Loud

7.     I Was Made for Lovin’ You

8.     Detroit Rock City

9.     God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll to You II

10.  Rock and Roll All Nite

I won’t do a track by track rundown, I’ll just give you my overall impressions. Right off the bat, you can tell Paul’s voice is strained and raspy but he manages to pull it off and he actually does sound better as the show progresses. The vocals are in the front of the mix and the crowd noise doesn’t sound as present as on Tokyo 2001. The instruments sound crisp and clear, and it rarely feels like anyone is getting buried in the mix. The song selection is pretty great and covers all eras—happy to hear some tracks off of Revenge with “Unholy” and “God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll to You.” In the end, it does look a lot like the kind of setlist that’s currently being played during their End of the Road Tour, but KISS is known to have become creatures of habit in their latter days in terms of shaking things up and they do prefer to stick to a winning formula of hits the fans love spanning four decades of music. I’m not complaining, I think this is a terrific show that paints a pretty accurate snapshot of what it was like to be at a KISS concert eighteen years ago, warts and all. That’s the beauty of these Soundboard releases: they sound genuine and raw, not re-recorded and polished to perfection in the studio. At an hour and forty-nine minutes long, it’s twenty minutes shorter than Tokyo 2001 with only one song less. I actually appreciate the fact that there aren’t as many lengthy solos on this release.

Bottom line, if you’re a KISS fan, you know you need to have this CD/vinyl set. Sure, the packaging may be lacking, but it’s a good replica of what a bootleg live album should look like. I do hope that KISS ventures into other unreleased eras of the band for this Off the Soundboard series and that they won’t go to the Alive 35 Tour of 2008 next or subsequent tours as their next picks. Give us the 1980 New Zealand from the Unmasked Tour. Or something from the excellent ‘80s lineup of Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr. Or the awesome Psycho Circus Halloween show of 1998 at Dodger Stadium with Ace and Peter. I’ll be writing an article about my favorite KISS live bootlegs soon where I’ll discuss my wish list of concerts I’d love to see released for this series. In the meantime, until the next volume—in nine months time perhaps—the Virginia Beach 2004 show remains an amazing concert, whether you’re a die-hard KISS fan or were born on the other side of the 21^st century and have only just begun enjoying what this awesome band has to offer. After all, the best way to experience KISS is live!

Visit KISS’s Off the Soundboard Shop 

Review: Stone Axe - Stay of Execution

Stone Axe, for the uninitiated, is a classic rock band helmed by multi-instrumentalist Tony Reed and lead vocalist Dru Brinkerhoff. They haven’t had a release in over a decade. Come March 18, Ripple Music will unleash their latest, Stay of Execution, a collection of hidden gems, oddities, and unreleased recordings. Make no mistake though, this set of songs forms a very cohesive album, and a tremendous one at that. 

Recorded between 2008 and 2011, one could easily be fooled into thinking some of these songs were recorded in the ‘70s. Very few bands can pull off that genuine classic rock sound to perfection the way Stone Axe does. If you’re a fan of Thin Lizzy, Free, late ‘70s/early ’80s Whitesnake back when they used to make some rock n’ blues, then I guarantee you that this album will make you jump for joy. “Fell on Deaf Ears” instantly takes you back in time for this barn-burner of an opener. It features an awesome guitar solo to boot! “Lady Switchblade”, this one has it all: a slower-paced track with a catchy chorus and beats that’ll leave their imprint on your mind. “Sweet Sweet Time” is a bluesy number with soulful lyrics, heart-thumping drums, classic keys, and weeping guitars. “Deep Blue”, another slower cut, poetic and evocative with a gorgeous guitar serenade. “Metal Damage” has got a head-bobbing riff with traditional rock n’ roll lyrics. Effective and the very definition of a short & sweet song. “For All Who Fly” is my favorite song on this marvellous LP. Zeppelinesque at times, with absolutely beautiful lyrics, a good mix of acoustic and electric guitars, and also reminiscent of the Black Crowes. “King of Everything” is deeply rooted in ‘70s classic rock and is another gem of a song. “The Last Setting Sun” is a farewell song of sorts. The lengthiest track at nearly eight minutes, it’s the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. An epic song and the strongest of the record.

I will spoil my picks for year-end list of best albums by saying that Stone Axe’s Stay of Execution will undoubtedly have its place in the top five. I really hope Tony and Dru consider teaming up again for another Stone Axe album in the near future; this is just too great a collaboration to be their last. A stellar record in every aspect that feels more like a hits package than an oddities collection. For all of you classic rock lovers out there, this one’s for you!

Stone Axe’s Bandcamp page: https://stoneaxe.bandcamp.com/

Ripple Music’s Stone Axe Bandcamp page: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/stay-of-execution

Bandcamp Friday March(es) On!

March is here and winter will soon be over (hopefully)! And with it comes the first Friday of the month AKA Bandcamp Friday: a day where Bandcamp waives its revenue share and all the money goes directly to the artists and labels. This particular BC Friday is a very strong one! As usual, I’ll share with you my five (and a few more) picks and recommendations to spend your hard-earned dollars and support hard-working bands/labels in the process.

First off, released last Friday via Dying Victims Productions, a fantastic old school metal/NWOBHM debut album by Austrian quintet Venator titled Echoes from the Gutter. If you enjoy Iron Maiden and Judas Priest’s brand of metal, then you’ll get a huge kick out of this thunderous record. You can get it here.

Second, also out last week is fellow Canadian Fuzz Rock band AAWKS (a slang term for an awkward person) and the first single off of their upcoming LP, titled “Space City.” It’s fuzzy and spacey as hell and it’s priced at only a Canuck buck, so show them some love over here.

Third, if you’re in the mood for some fuzzed out rock n’ roll straight out of New Zealand, Swamp Rat Collective just came out with a smokin’ track called “a.k.a. Rollergirl” as well as redux versions of two singles, “Dusk” and “Buzzsaw Disco.” You can pick up those groovy songs right here.

Fourth, last year saw the passing of Eric Wagner, the beloved ex-lead singer of Doom legends Trouble. His posthumous album, In the Lonely Light of Mourning, is now being released and from what I’ve heard of it so far, it’s a memorable document of one of rock, doom, and metal’s finest vocalists. You can get this gem here.

Fifth (and sixth, and seventh), the mighty Ripple Music label continues to be a dominant force in the realm of heavy rock. Earlier this week, a stellar “Name Your Price” compilation celebrating the upcoming RippleFest in Nantes was released. You can grab it here.

Today Ripple unleashes JIRM’s new album; I’ve had time to sample it and it was well worth the wait. Think Soundgarden meets Pink Floyd with an edge. You can pick up The Tunnel, The Well, Holy Bedlam right this way.

And if you’re looking to pre-order what is sure to wind up in my top five albums of 2022 at the end of the year, Stone Axe’s Stay of Execution comes out on March 18 and it’s an absolute masterpiece! I’ve spun the entire album twice already and it’s phenomenal! Eight instant classic songs featuring Tony Reed and Dru Brinkerhoff at the top of their game. Pre-order now via Ripple and get a couple of songs instantly right here.

That’s it for another edition of #BandcampFriday, folks. I hope I helped shine some lights on some well-deserving bands that truly merit your support, money, and ears. Treat yourself and help some great bands and labels by the same token, it’s a win-win situation. Have a rockin’ weekend and may it be filled with awesome music!