Reviews roundup – The Shams vs. Silvertung vs. Burkhard Mahler
THE SHAMS
One And All EP
independent
Three Irishmen and two Americans walk into a pub. No, really. Anyway, melodic pop punk meets fiddly jigging on a radio friendly EP. And yes, they do have a song about drinking. And ‘Drinks Are One Me’ is actually the best tune on here, as it’s where they become Irish Irish and are all the better for it..
It’s Pogues-lite, but it’s the sort of thing that goes down a treat in the 5pm slot at a festival before the big boys get going. Either that or around about 9 at night in a slightly smelly boozer. Nothing wrong with that, and all rather enjoyable.
SILVERTUNG
Devil’s In The Detail
Tungnation
Oh, hello, I like this. But then I thought Disturbed were good, so those of you looking for a cachet of cool may want to look elsewhere. Silvertung are from Maryland, and certainly have the post grunge, nu metal (ssh) vibe down pat.
Apparently, they comprise guitarist ZZ, drummer Danno, vocalist Speed and bass player Skoot, which tends to imply they’re lying low for tax reasons, but they certainly know how to rock it up, with ‘Coming Alive’ and ‘Justify’ a perfect example of how to kick off an album.
They even go radio friendly on ‘Used To Fly’ and I can’t think of any reason why Silvertung shouldn’t be reasonably far up the Division 2 rankings at the end of the season. Fans of Godsmack should certainly be getting in here early.
BURKHARD MAHLER
Cinematic And Classic Edition 1
Mahler Movie Music Ctp
Well, where do we go from here? I mean what do you say about 2 hours of instrumental music aimed at the big screen? Because that’s what you’re getting.
And German composer Burkhard Mahler is very good at what he does. As she should be with over 20 albums to his name. This double CD is split into two with the Cinematic Edition more rock oriented with some excellent guitars, while the Classic Edition is largely piano and orchestra based.
As a showcase for what he can do, it certainly does the job, and there is no reason why studios, TV companies and games developers shouldn’t come a-knocking. As a CD you’re unlikely to play it for the whole two hours, but Herr Mahler is certainly a very talented composer and performer.
The Rocker - The Artist Formerly Known As Zeitgeist. TAFKAZ 
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