Reviews roundup – Joe Bonamassa vs. Paul Filipowicz vs. Silent Revenants vs. Ethernity vs. Johnny Wore Black vs. Conundrum In Deed

Reviews roundup – Joe Bonamassa vs. Paul Filipowicz vs. Silent Revenants vs. Ethernity vs. Johnny Wore Black vs. Conundrum In Deed

 
JOE BONAMASSA
Redemption
Provogue

Well, if it’s a Tuesday (at the time of writing) then it must be time for a new Joe Bonamassa album.

I’ve lost count but with solo records, band albums, collaborations and live records, he must be well into the world of thirty something. But, lo and behold, this latest solo album has turned out to be one of his best.

See, he’s still improving as a singer and a songwriter. I mean he’s always been absurdly talented as a guitarist but there a lot of shit hot guitarists out there that I would rather throw under a bus before listening to them widdle. That’s certainly not the case here as he has put together a remarkably good set of songs, In an interesting move he’s actually brought in another couple of guitarists for the record to give his patented blues rock a wee twist. And it certainly works well.

And it is, mainly, blues rock because that’s what his solo albums are for. He can mess about with all his other projects so although you can hear the likes of Black Country Communion rubbing off on a couple of tracks, this is very much Joe. Tunes like ‘Evil Mama’ and ‘King Bee Shakedown’ are as good as it gets when it comes to blues rock. However, he can still go all retro on the likes of ‘Pick Up The Pieces’ which sees a pedal steel guitar and jazzy brass to the fore whereas he gets his acoustic on for the depressing (in a good way) ‘Stronger Now In Broken Places’.

This may be his 13th solo record but there’s nothing unlucky here as he comes up with one the best records of his career.

 

PAUL FILIPOWICZ
Unfiltered
Big Jake Records

Off to Chicago now for some, um, Chicago blues. Paul Filipowicz is the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame member and this is his tenth solo record.

The man himself takes care of guitar and vocals with a core band of Chris Sandoval on drums, “Tricky” Rick Smith on bass guitar and Benjamin “Benny” Rickun on harp taking care of the basic business.

It’s split between original material and dips into the catalogues of Magic Sam, Lowell Fulsom and Howlin’ Wolf and his own songs don’t lose out by being mext to the likes of ‘Reconsider Baby’ and ‘Howling For My Baby’. He’s nae singer, mind, but his rough voice doesn’t actually sound out of place next to the tough approach he takes to his material. His guitar playing, however, is always a treat.

Of his own songs it’s ‘Brand New Hat’ and ‘My Woman’ that stand out, although the two instrumentals that are also here give his instrumental prowess a real showcase. It’s the kind of record that got me into the blues in the first place and if you have a yen for some brass augmented tough Chicago blues then this is well worth a visit.

 

SILENT REVENANTS
Walk With Fire
independent

Female fronted symphonic metal with a featured bagpipe player? Come to Daddy!

They formed in 2012 so it’s no great surprise to learn that their influences include the likes of Nightwish and Epica. And although they’re definitely following in their footsteps there is quite a hard edge to a lot of the material here.

That may be down to the vocals of Denise Schlahn which bring a more hard rock approach to things instead of the operatic overtones of most of the genre. But it’s also helped by some excellent arrangements.

The mix of acoustic and electric works really well and songs like the title track, ‘Marching Song’ and ‘Just Stand Still’ show that they have a lot to offer. And when you throw in the first bagpipe solo on the second track you’re going to make a born and bred Scotchman feel right at home! They’ve managed to get a good sound considering it’s an independent release and they’re only a killer track away from being a band who could make it big. Fans of symphonic metal looking for their next fix could do a lot worse than getting a hold of this.

 

ETHERNITY
The Humanity Race Extinction
AFM

So, you work away for years, then release a couple of well received progressive metal independent albums and get yourself signed to one of the metal majors. You record your major debut, then six weeks before release, your singer jacks it in! I believe that defines bummer.

Which leaves me in a position where I’m reviewing an as yet unreleased record by a band who’re in the throes of a major change. So it’s goodbye to the old Ethernity and (rather good) singer Julie Colin.

It’s a shame, actually, as there aren’t too many prog metal bands with a female singer and Ethernity are good at what they do. For sure, every other song sounds a bit like Dream Theater. But so do most of the other prog metal bands and Ethernity seem to have nicked the good stuff rather than the banal. It’s got everything you would want from the genre. Tricky time changes, inventive guitar runs, it’s all there. So the timing is a real bugger for the Belgians who’ve performed with the likes of HammerFall, Vanden Plas, Rhapsody of Fire, Symphony X, Masterplan and Evergrey.

But if this is their epitaph then it’s a good one. The title track, along with powerful, riff driven numbers such as ‘Mechanical Life’ and ‘Rise of Droids’ hit all the marks you want in this particular genre. If there was one small criticism it’s that the mix mutes the drums too much, but the keyboards and guitars work well. I can only hope that Ms Colin finds a new home in metal because her voice is too good to lose. And that Ethernity can overcome a massive hurdle.

 

JOHNNY WORE BLACK
Gun True Love
EMP Label Group

Hmm. Who would have thought that Junior would have been involved with this.

Because, yes, that is the bass guitar of Megadeth’s David Ellefson churning away on this lead track from the UK rockers third full length album “Ultra Violent Light”. That also surprised me as I’d never heard of them but I haven’t read Kerrang! in fifteen years as I like my metal to be heavy.

Someone has friends in high places because apart from Junior, the record was produced by David Bottrill (Tool, Stone Sour, Dream Theater). And it’s pretty good for modern, mainstream metal. The main riff has a potent groove to it I can see “the kids” shaking their thangs (or whatever it is that kids do nowadays) down the discotheque.

 

CONUNDRUM IN DEED
Travelling House
independent

Prog time now and it’s Conundrum In Deed from darn Sarf that are providing the tricky rhythms and impenetrable Van Der Graaf honks.

I hasten to add that those are good things because there is nothing worse than a prog band that thinks making a pop song seven minutes long is prog. It’s not. It’s just a song that’s too long.

But there is none of that nonsense here as Conundrum In Deed thrown in jazz, seventies mellow prog, some fusion and a sprinkling of thyme to make a rather tasty dish. Granted, it’s a diverse offering so there will probably be something you won’t take too. But if you like the idea of tunes called ‘The Astronomer of Moszkva Ter’, Caravan meets Ian Anderson like vocals or the rather endearing notion that they need to finish the album with a radio edit of ‘Just A Cloud’ then this could be the prog record you need. Especially as there isn’t an album version of ‘Just A Cloud’. I doubt that Alice and Dev will be playing it on their Radio 1 weekend breakfast show but that’s their loss. And, yes, I had to duckduckgo that as I wouldn’t know where to look for it on my tranny.

But that’s their loss as “Travelling House” is an accomplished, left field set of prog tunes that deserves a wide audience.

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