| CD REVIEW Skiller – The Dudes Terrific – The Lonely H – Trouble Tribe Japan – We Die Tonight |
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TSM/SLW Promotions special, July 2011, part 6 : Skiller – The Dudes Terrific – The Lonely H – Trouble Tribe Japan – We Die Tonight Couple of réal good bands in this last special of the month July (3 out of 5 even getting year-listed), and good heavens, there's even a Hardcore band included...I guess that's somewhat of a first (or am I mistaken?). Anyway, although I was working against time (and at the same time preparing to go on a week's fossil hunting trip), I've given all of the releases the attention each other album would get from me usually. I also didn't stop at giving you as much as info possible. Hope you enjoy! ----------------------------------------------------- This Stockholm based Swedish Electronics influenced Extreme Metal quintet (consisting of lead singer David 'Dave' Sundbom, guitarists Joni Laine & Niclas 'Nick' Gustafson, and the rhythm section of brothers Rikard 'Richie' (bass) and Sebastian 'Dihm Rust' Swahn) was formed in 2004, and the guys immediately recorded and self-released their debut full-length Yours To Blame. It was followed by two EPs (2006's 4-tracker Soulless Generation and 2008's 5-track We're Next)before the guys wrote a completely new set of songs for their (still self-released) second full-length Novels Of Suburbia, which was released in May 2009. Shortly after the release the guys went out on a European tour with Backyard Babies. In 2010 Skiller headlined the Swedish Tour De Mosh with Last View (and several local bands supporting), and they followed that up by being support act to Sonic Syndicate, Blowsight and Mustasch. By September the band had recorded a new single entitled “Not Over”, and was asking its fans to help 'em get into the Most Wanted list at Sweden's radio station Bandit Rock Radio. Meanwhile they were getting back into the studio and recording an additional two songs for release through this new EP, which is part of a bigger project entitled The Rise Of A New Empire. So, here's 3 new songs (including the aforementioned “Not Over”), two of which were posted alongside two tracks off Novels Of Suburbia...and the newly added song “Army Of Truth” (a forerunner for the upcoming 2nd chapter in the band's The Rise Of A New Empire project) at (www.) myspace.com/skillermetal (the band supposedly has a website of its own, but that immediately reverts to the MySpace page). What you'll hear is a relatively simple Thrash/ Death Metal with twó singers, one of which always sings clean vocals, the other using the Death/ Thrash voice but also occasionally singing clean. What elevates the band's music (besides the great vocal stylings), are the electronics (synths) which you'll find throughout all three songs. Weird uh, that a band which has such a distinct electronics sound would not credit the person responsible for creating those sounds? Personally, I lóve this band's approach, and I cannot help but giving Follow The Siren a top rating. Which means it's getting into my year-lists, see! I'm waiting with anticipation to hear the next chapter! 98/100 ----------------------------------------------------- For the history of this Nashville based '70s Rock/ '80s Pop Rock act, we would have to dig into the past of one Doug Forshey (guitar & lead vocals), whom actually hails from Huntington County in Pennsylvania. Growing up with a variety of music from Pink Floyd, AC/DC and Tom Petty, to Roger Miller (known for his Honky Tonk influenced novelty songs) and Merle Haggard (Country singer), it wasn't until he first heard “Highway To Hell” that he knew he wanted to play in a Rock band. In order to pursue a songwriting career he moved to Nashville, where he eventually signed on as staff writer at Best Built Songs. Honing his craft with many of the best of the town's writers, he eventually decided to go back to his (Hard) Rock roots in late 2007, partnering with long-time friend Matt Goedken (lead guitar & backing vocals) to form TDT. Matt (whom hails from Bettendorf, Iowa) hat gotten his first guitar aged 10, and was influenced by a heap of musicians/ artists from the '50s on, most particularly The Beatles, Steppenwolf, Hendrix and Black Sabbath, but also by a who's who of Blues musicians. He's played in a multitude of styles, from Rock to New Wave, from Rockabilly to Blues, and from Country back to Rock. Due to a neuro-muscular condition, he was “out of commission for 8 year...and when finally recovered to some satisfaction got the call from Doug. Next in the line-up presentation is bassist Michael Jeffers, the only Tennessee native in the band, but admittedly from the extreme North-Eastern Kingstown, from where he moved with his family after high school. He started playing the bass at age 13, and was a founding member (along wit his brother Chad) of the relatively popular Country band Pinmonkey, who released 3 critically acclaimed albums during their 6-year existence. He's since played with a multitude of Nashville artists, including Chris Knight, Radney Foster, Ashley Moore, The Leavin' Brothers Band, and Nathan Spears. At the moment, besides playing with TDT, he also holds a tenure with Country artist Joe Nichols. Last equation in the the current TDT fold is drummer Ruben Garces, whom comes from Florida. Commencing to play the drums when he was only 10, he became a stalwart of the Florida club scene at an early age, and then attended the prestigious Berklee College Of Music in Boston. Deciding to further his career, he decided to Nashville in 1993, and has since played with several national touring acts and performed on thousands of recordings. He also did a stint with MCA recording artists Push. He owns a recording studio in East Nashville where he not only records commercial jingles for radio and television, but also has bands recording full albums. 5th man back then, was keyboardist Reginald Bradley Smith (about whom I have no further info, except that he apparently left the band after the recordings of the debut album). TDT self-released its debut album Born Yesterday (displaying the band members' ability to move into several modes of Rock, from '70 Hard Rock to '80s Pop Rock alà Heartbreakers, and to Progressive) on their own label Goldenboy Records in late 2008 (re-releasing it in a re-mixed and re-mastered version the year after), and followed that up with TDT II last year. Evidently, the album's been around somewhat already, and it's actually been getting nice reviews from all over the globe (British magazine Power Play giving it a 7/10 rating). Hey, and you know something? You can actually listen to each and every song on those two albums in the “Music” (actually the opening page) at (www.) thedudesterrific.com, so I don't have to go into details about each and every song on TDT II. Simply expect a continuation of the styles mentioned for the debut album. Great band, this, but they forgot to mention whom is responsible for the frequent piano and organ sounds we can hear on this second album. If you're nostalgic for the Blues-infused Hard Rock and Pop Rock sounds of yore, TDT will provide you with a decent good time indeed! Thé ideal album to put on on a hot Summer's evening while we're trying to get some cool out on the porch. Oh, and apparently at the moment you can buy all of he band's music (in mp3) for half the original price! 90/100 ----------------------------------------------------- This Port Angeles (Washington) based quartet (which has recently grown to a quintet through the addition of a second guitarist) has been in existence at least since late 2004 (that's when they put together their MySpace page) and at that time the band members (lead singer/ keyboardist Mark Fredson, guitarist/ backing singer Eric Whitman, bassist/ backing singer Johnny Whitman, and drummer/ backing singer Ben Eyestone...who've known each other since little league) were just mere teenagers. Their excitingly good and frequently Country-flavoured Southern Rock, and the positive response from the inflamatory shows they played in any vicinity reachable by bus of ferry, soon attracted the attention of The Control Group (a small record label which started in 2002, and which have since managed to release albums by the likes of such interesting bands/ artists as Alien Crime Syndicate, Cate Le Bon, Figurines, Grandaddy, Kings Of Leon, Kitten, People Eating People, Curtis Peoples, Post Stardom Depression, Royal Bliss, The Deer Tracks, The Killers, Wildhearts & Peacedrums, and several others) with the band's 2006 debut album Kick Upstairs as a first result. 2007's Hair was actually written at the same time. In 2007 they played hooky on their parents, spending their high school graduation summer touring coast to coast in support of their new record, traveling everywhere in their van...and soon enough positive responses began coming onto the Internet from both fans and bloggers all over the States (including MSNBC, The New York Post, and CMJ). During 2008, but this time with their parents' consent (and while still cramming at college to get their degrees) they played over 200 shows. The boys were definitely goin' places...and the beautiful thing is, it was no copy-cat kinda thing! These guys happen to live in a small town, with just the one walmarket, 2 cinemas, a bowling hall and a McDonalds. Nothing goin' on there at all, and the guys were actually living somewhat outside the modern music scene...which is something they like just fine! When they go out on tour they may love the big cities they're at (often arriving in the afternoon with any sleeping arrangements in mind), but when the touring is done, they go home with warm longing hearts. Anyway, somewhere in 2009 the band got into Seattle's Orbit Studio with producer Joe Reineke to record the 12 songs (2 of which, namely “The Singer” and “Other Side Of The Water”, co-written with Reineke while in the studio, apparently) now on the Concrete Class album. With Eric also playing mandolin, banjo, and lap steel guitar, and Johnny also playing the harp somewhere, the band invited one Scott Harris to add saxophone sounds to two songs (“Diggin' A Hole” and “Other Side Of The Water”), thus adding to the already rich texture of those songs. Other guest appearances come from Claire Weaver (backing singing on album opening track “Right Down To Me”), John Labelle (congas on “The Singer”), and Reineke himself (whom added guitar to acoustic ballad “The River” and played bass on “Take Care”). What can you expect from the material? Well, actually I already mentioned that above, but I guess you'll have to listen to the music to believe me when I'm telling you that the guys' music is really catchy and addictive! Somewhere in the info I read in order to start this review, I read the lines, “...someone forgot to tell 'em this is not 1973...” and, for sure, all one has to do is imagine a group of Country music raised youngsters in that age, coming across the (then still looking for a record deal) legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd. I mean, TLH's music has everything music of that age would have: catchy melodies with instant memorability and singalong factor, but also with the necessary underlaying complexities to make things interesting for the musicians. Top that with a great singer whose slightly heady and nasal high pitch gives the band a signature face of its own, and the fact that the other guys occasionally back him with a three-member harmonizing (they're Eagles fans, see), and you get the complete picture. Well...maybe not quite, because to give you the full picture I would have to go song-by-song...so I'd better direct you to (www.) myspace.com/thelonelyh, where the band regrettably only posted the one older song. You could check the band's facebook page (I couldn't because that site was recently blocked on my network pc), and the album's definitely got a page at Amazon.com (so that's where you'll be able to listen to 30-second samples of all songs). Cutting the chase and adding all up, I'll have to add this album to my 2009 year-lists! 98/100 ----------------------------------------------------- Based in Osaka, Japan, the formation story of this band goes back to 1999, when US native drummer Gordy Carlson was playing in a somewhat popular band doing Japanese tours and about to get their first record deal. Although he loved what he was doin', he was seen more as a support member, and was not allowed to contribute to the creative process of songwriting. That's when he met singer Brian O'Kane (of Irish nativity) at the club where he himself was working as a fulltime DJ. Only two days later they were rehearsing, just the two of 'em with, I guess, Brian also playing guitar. A week later they were doin' their first gig (still as a duo) at Gordy's club...and that's where bassist Yugi Uchida saw 'em. He offered his services, and has been a member of the band since. Brian then (by now it was early 2000) recruited this Yngwie-style guitarist named Shin Iida, and the band rehearsed a total of 12 cover songs. One week later (after just the one rehearsal) the band did its debut gig (still at the same club). During the second rehearsal, the guys were making a couple of originals, and added 'em to their live set, playing at Open Mic Nights or wherever a band might play for free. Still in early 2000 TTJ recorded their 4-track debut EP. Released in earliest 2001, it went over well, although the band itself felt it was crappy and amateurish. Still, the songs were being played on Osaka radio station, and the album was getting positive internet ratings. On the downside, the band was having trouble with its guitarist, whom was more into an old style of Metal, while the band wanted to create something more original. While recruiting guitarist Jun Sugimoto as a support member on a per-per-gig basis, Gordy subliminally put Shin up to leaving the band...which he did in May 2001. So Jun was asked to join full-time, and he did. He also played on the band's debut full-length Nothing Set In Stone, which was released in mid December that same year. Soon after the band was getting more media attention, also being given more and more radio airplay, and Jun left his main band (which was actually singed to Sony) to play with the Tribe full-time! Thanks to the radio airplay, the band then saw 2 of its songs being used in soundtrack of the movie MyDo!., and they eventually signed their first record deal (on Onkyo's Premium Stones label), which triggered even more media attention. The deal led to the 2004 release of the band's self-titled 5-track official debut, with almost daily FM radio airplay as a direct result and several appearances on Japan Music TV and NHK. They hit a peak in 2005 and were next found booking gigs all over Japan, while simultaneously needing to keep onto day jobs in order to make ends meet. Needless to say that eventually the band was not really happy with the slow progress that was being made, and they therefore parted ways with their label, resolved to finding and making it their own way, independently. To that end, they already recorded a first track (“Sunny California”) at Osaka's Kiss Studio with engineer Yoshitada Kimura in 2006. In early 2008 the band did a relatively big Australian tour, and after that continued their raid on Japanese grounds. But, by 2010 the band was banned from playing in a lot of their hometown's venues due to noise issues with neighboring business establishments (hey, you know, Japan IS a densely populated group of islands). Meanwhile Brian had gotten married and was fathering a baby, and Jun's wife was experiencing a bed-ridden pregnancy. With limited playing opportunities and other stuff occupying the band's members, they still kept in shape, rehearsing every week, and eventually finishing their latest 8-track album at Kiss Studio in early 2011. As a point of interest, let's mention that the band plays on 6-string basses and 7-string guitars. Not that one is able to hear the difference, but musicians will tell you that playing on those instruments doés warrant a certain degree of musicianship. So, what's to be expected when listening to TTJ music? Well, it's basically a Melodic Hard Rock with frequent Heavy and occasional Poppy flavourings, spiced with a strong lead singer. Occasionally the band comes off their Hard Rockin' ways for a semi-acoustic ballad (in this case the nice very nice “Starlight”). That don't tell you much, does it? Well, just check the samples posted at the album's page on CDBaby(www.) cdbaby.com/cd/troubletribejapan, or the two full-length versions at (www.) myspace.com/troubletribejapan, and you'll have a better idea. The band invites the readers to perhaps buy a couple of their songs, or at least listen to 'em and then come to the shows in order to get the songs blow into their faces. From what I've read, those live appearances are also somewhat different each time. 86/100 ----------------------------------------------------- Huùùmmm...last review for June (I'm leaving on a holiday tomorrow morning)...and I don't wanna come across too schoolmaster like, but I dó suggest the members of this band to include some more info in their promo packages (all we got was a 4-track CD which mentioned the bandname, album & song titles, and a web contact address! I mean, quite a few “music journalists” wont even bother to check your music unless there's some basic info, and more than often will also misrepresent you in their reviews, looking at your music from their own background. Luckily, this “teacher” doés check out on each and every band he comes across, whether the band gives elaborate info or not. Now, let's see what I can tell you about this band...they're London (UK) based...formed in late 2008 with a line-up consisting of lead singer Tom Blenkiron, guitarists James Hudson and Luke Marsh, bassist Chris Herder, and drummer Josh McFayden, and in that constellation of membership recorded the 5-track EP Fall From Grace, which was released on 2010's April Fools Day by Seven Records in collaboration with Sixteen 14 Global...they then had a line-up change and took in lead singer Peter Falk and exchanged March for female guitarist Nina Silpa, and went on to record and self-release two 2-track EP's, entitled Portraits and Stem The Tide (the latter apparently released in May 2001)...they play Hardcore with technical lead guitar work, and have a singer whose aggressive vocal stylings (scream/ shout) easily fall in that category, but have a backing singer whom goes either clean, or brings in the occasional grunt (and this, deer youngsters, is how a band which sees itself as Hardcore might find itself confused for a MetalCore act!), or go in a style matching the lead singer's...in the past two years they have steadily seen their profile rise thanks to shows with Attack Attack! (US), Bury Tomorrow, Hopes Die Last, Tek-ne, We Are Fiction, Without Fire, Proceed, and Don Bosco...and they're currently looking to better that profile of theirs even more with the release of their 2-track EP Stem The Tide. Well, I hope I'm getting that last little detail correct...after all, the EP mentioned on the band's Last.fm page doés post the EP as 2-tracks, while the promo EP we got has two more, also new, songs on it. For your listening pleasure, the band put the EP's songs “Ecstacy” and “Salt In The Shark's Bite”, plus the second track off the Portraits EP (which is, by the way, available as free download from the Last.fm page), at (www.) myspace.com/wedietonightband. If you're into the more extreme Hardcore stylings, but still want 'em to have an epic feel thanks to elaborate lead play, dó check out those songs. If you're lucky enough to live in London, then by all means go see one of the band's shows...but perhaps you've already been there, uh? I mean, I'm sure this band's name has been running around in the London Hardcore scene at a speed which makes an Australian bush fire look like a monk on valium. Anyway, two thumbs up, and in my book you're already in the major league. Let's see UK's music business follow through now! 98/100 ----------------------------------------------------- Tony. |
