Summer’s in full swing and July
is soon coming to an end. The Harbinger took the month of June off, but he’s
back! It’s the last Saturday of the month, so it’s time for the Harbinger’s
Killer Picks. Here are my top five picks of the month, in chronological release
order.
First, Reflection, the much-loved
Greek epic metal band, unleashed their latest LP, The Battles I Have Won, via Pitch Black Records on June 20th.
This was a band I’d never heard of and, man, what a great discovery this was
when this LP landed in my inbox! For the uninitiated, Reflection has been
around since 1992 and this is their fifth album. Their sound is a cross between
Iron Maiden and Manowar, but more epic, more mythical. This is their first
record with vocalist Kostas Tokas and it makes a world of difference for me. I
sampled their previous LP, 2017’s Bleed
Babylon Bleed with their former singer and it did nothing for me. On this
present record, the band fires on all cylinders. From the kick-ass opener,
“Only the Swords Survive”, to the three catchy singles “The Battles I Have
Won”, “Lord of the Wind”, and my personal favourite, “Siren’s Song”, there
isn’t a dull moment on the entire LP. Kostas Tokas’ soaring vocals remind me a
bit of Scorpions’ Klaus Meine at times—he’s that talented. Other highlights
include “Celestial War”, which embodies the definition of an epic tune; “March
of the Argonauts”, a memorable galloping song with a fitting title; and “Lady
in the Water”, a fine example of old school metal at its best. The Battles I Have Won is pretty much
the perfect metal record in my opinion. From its gorgeous cover artwork to its songs
of grand scope set to a landscape of powerful, melodic metal music, it’s my
favourite album of the summer. Whether you’re familiar with Reflection or not,
if you like metal music, you owe it to yourself to pick up The Battles I Have Won. It’s a shoo-in for the Top Ten Albums of
the Year list.
Pitch Black Records’ Bandcamp Page for Reflection
Second, Dominic Harrison aka YUNGBLUD,
released his much-anticipated fourth LP on June 20th, a love letter
to his musical influences titled Idols.
A couple of weeks ago, I had never heard of the phenomenon that is YUNGBLUD. It
took his much-lauded performance of “Changes” at the Black Sabbath/Ozzy Back to the Beginning tribute concert to
get me curious to see/hear what the fuss was all about. And I’m here to tell
you, believe the hype, this dude is legit! He reminds me of the revelation that
was Lady Gaga for pop music about fifteen years ago; YUNGBLUD is just that, but
for rock music. At times, the lavish production reminded me of Meat Loaf’s 1977
masterpiece Bat out of Hell. Some of
the highlights for me include the emotional opener and first single, “Hello
Heaven, Hello"; the insanely catchy second single “Lovesick Lullaby";
the phenomenal third single and my personal favourite song of the album, “Zombie”,
an homage to healthcare workers; the awesome The Cure-inspired "Monday
Murder"; "Ghosts", a powerful song with U2 vibes; the memorable "War",
and the superb closer, "Supermoon", channeling David Bowie and Elton
John. YUNGBLUD wears his influences on his sleeves on Idols and you can clearly hear shades of Bowie, Queen, U2, The
Cure, Oasis and many other Britpop staples throughout. The only fault I would
give this album is that due to the orchestrations, at times it sounds a little too
bombastic for my taste, but overall, it’s a polished record from the opening riffs
to the closing verses. A gifted singer and songwriter, YUNGBLUD has crafted in Idols a record that will be cherished by
his generation for years to come.
YUNGBLUD’s Official Site
Third, Sunderland, UK Goth/Punk
trio Black Rain released their self-titled debut album on July 14th.
The band describes itself as too goth for punk and too punk for goth; it’s the
best of both worlds, in my opinion. A band and an album that showed up out of
nowhere for me and turned out to be one of the nicest surprises of the summer. First
off, the guitar tone on this album is ten shades of awesome. Black Rain’s edgy
energy cuts through the darkness to give us an outstanding collection of songs.
The first five tracks are traditional studio cuts while the following four were
recorded raw live, I would assume in a studio as they don’t sound like they
were performed in front of an audience or in a club. In any case, it’s a
seamless listening experience and this record packs a hell of a wallop. The
first single and opener, “Inside”, sets the tone for the entire album, a rain
of nostalgia pouring down with ‘80s vibes galore. “Save Me” has echoes of The
Cure and Sisters of Mercy; “Shotgun” is a bass-driven gem. “Shadows Cry”
invokes a smoky, nighttime atmosphere while the second single, “Broken Words”,
has a vintage sound to it that harkens back to the glory days of Punk and Goth.
Another highlight for me was the penultimate track, “I Suffer Alone”, an
introspective, half instrumental tune that gains momentum as it goes along to
reach its sonic climax. Black Rain delivers a record chock-full of intensity
with catchy melodies, splendid licks, pulsing rhythms, and riffs for days. Josh
Cowey’s haunting vocals shine throughout the album. Black Rain is a short and sweet affair, running a brisk 31 minutes,
but it’s a record that you’ll want to spin over and over again deep into the
night.
Black Rain on Bandcamp
Fourth, alt-rock ‘90s legends Bush
returned with their tenth album on July 18th, titled I Beat Loneliness. I haven’t listened to
a Bush LP since the ‘90s, back when they went under the name Bush X! I used to
own their first album, Sixteen Stone,
on CD and enjoyed it a lot back in the day. I bailed out after that, but have heard
their follow-up, Razorblade Suitcase,
many times at various friends’ places over the years. The last song I’d heard
from them was the awesome “Bullet Holes” back in 2019, a track featured in the
film John Wick 3. When I heard the
first two singles for this new album, they sounded great, so I figured I’d give
it a spin or two. It sounds like a logical evolution of Bush’s ‘90s sound.
Gavin Rossdale pretty much sounds the same as he did back in his prime. This is
a very personal album for him and the care he put into it can be heard throughout.
While not reinventing the wheel, Rossdale and company still manage to deliver
catchy hooks and melodic choruses for the vast majority of the album’s runtime.
The highlights for me are definitely the two singles, "60 Ways to Forget
People" and “The Land of Milk and Honey" (my personal favourite on
this record), as well as the opening track, “Scars”, which sets the tone for what
follows; the title song, the excellent “I Beat Loneliness”; "Love Me till
the Pain Fades", and “Footsteps in the Sand". The London quartet
delivers a collection of solid tunes with I
Beat Loneliness. I think long-time Bush fans will really dig this new
record. If you used to listen to Bush during the glory days of grunge and lost
track of them over time, then maybe the nostalgia factor will pull you in and you
might just have a blast.
earMusic’s Page for Bush
Fifth, Reigning Phoenix Music partnered
with Hasbro to release the G.I. Joe-inspired band Cold Slither’s first eponymous
album yesterday. If you were a boy who grew up in the ‘80s, then you most
likely watched the G.I. Joe cartoon after school. I watched it religiously,
collected the Marvel comics, and had over 50 action figures that provided me
with literally thousand of hours of fun as a kid. This band is based on the
cult-classic G.I. Joe episode Cold
Slither from 1985 where Cobra Commander comes up with the idea of having
Zartan and his Dreadnoks (Ripper, Torch, and Buzzer) form a metal band to play
music with subliminal messages to brainwash the masses. The song they perform in
the episode, “Cold Slither”, is wonderfully covered by the band here and was
the LP’s first single. We get various audio samples from G.I. Joe episodes
throughout the record which help immerse the listener in a nostalgia-filled
experience. Some of the highlights for me include “Knock ‘Em Dread”, the catchy
second single; “Torched”, a high-energy tune that would’ve felt right at home
in the G.I. Joe episode; “Under the Dreadnok’s Spell” with its terrific rhythm
and guitar licks; “Master of Disguise”, an earworm that’s the most melodic tune
on the LP and which should absolutely be the next single; and “The Ballad of
Buzzer”, a bona fide ballad and a pretty effective one at that. Reigning
Phoenix Music strikes gold again with this project. Cold Slither, the album (and the band) is a total blast from top to
bottom. It’s a light-hearted, super fun hard rock/metal album that is sure to
please G.I. Joe aficionados as well as non-fans. I, for one, hope that this
isn’t a one-off and that we’ll hear more music from this band in the years to
come.
RPM’s Page for Cold Slither
And that’s all, folks! I
hope you got a kick out of the July issue of the Harbinger’s Killer Picks. HKP
will return on August 30th to wrap up the summer season. Until then,
stay safe, enjoy the summer breeze, and crank up the tunes!
