Reviews roundup – Runrig ~ Razor Punch ~ Eddy Smith & The 507 ~ Pure Tonic ~ Blacksun ~ Kinetic Element
RUNRIG
The Last Dance
RCA
Ah, Runrig! How many times have I been driven up the wall by some numpty blasting out one of your records at a Hogmanay do? Seve. That’s how many.
I was never a fan. Their tubthumping always seemed a wee bit laboured to me, their sentimentality a wee bit too forced. Their politics were never mine. But there were plenty of heuchter teuchters out there who were happy to turn up to Stirling Castle for their farewell shows back in 2018 and it’s now being released in a myriad of formats for their fans. So I’ll no be going tae any Hogmanay parties this year.
They don’t quite cover their entire 45 year career. I’m no expert but I think “The Highland Connection” is as far back as they go, but they come right back up to date with a good few tunes from “The Story” which, ironically, was my favourite of their releases. Their final lineup of Calum McDonald on percussion, Rory MacDonald on vocals, bass and acoustic guitar, Bruce Guthro on vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica, Iain Bayne on drums, Brian Hurren on keyboards, vocals, acoustic guitar and surdo drum and Malcolm Jones on guitars, accordion and surdo drum are perfectly in sync with each other and the faithful won’t have gone away disappointed.
It’s expertly performed and the recording is crystal clear even if it took me a few sittings to get through all three discs. But no-one can deny that their career was a good one and that they meant a helluva lot to their followers. This serves them well and it’s out on on Blu-ray, 2DVD, 2CD, limited 3CD digipak, limited collector’s edition (2DVDs, 3CDs & numbered print inside a coffee table book), and digitally.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
RAZOR PUNCH
Tell Me Your Secret
Calygram
Hmmm. I’m not quite sure about this one. In places it’s very good. In others, oh no.
But there is certainly enough of interest for you to check them out if you like your hard rock to rock hard. As befits a band called Razor Punch.
They’ve actually been on the go for ages but it’s taken them a long while to get round to recording an album. And when they stick to the in your face rock and metal it’s really good. There is almost a glam metal edge to some of the tunes like ‘Take The Ride’ which the eighties rocker in me found rather endearing. When they punch even harder, as on ‘Bras Tacks’, I feel my loins being girded in excitement.
But when they slow the pace or try and get mellow it doesn’t really work. A special word of praise for vocalist Marco Scheiper who could could end up up being hijacked by a name band looking for a new singer as he really can perform. It’s not quite there and they’ll need to work harder if they want to climb the ladder but they’re two thirds of the way to being a really good band.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
EDDY SMITH & THE 507
Part One
independent
Hello! I like this. And I would never in a million years have known they were from that there England.
But Eddy Smith and the 507 are a London based blues meets soul outfit who sound like they’re from Over There. And very good they are too.
It’s that sort of late sixties sound where blues and soul crossed over into a roots rock mix and match but with a wee bit of modern day (technical term alert) oomph. The band are really shit hot with lead vocalist and keyboards from Eddy Smith, Josh Davies on drums, Will Franden on bass, electric guitar and moothie from Ashley Webb and Ricky O’Donnell also on electric guitar. There are five tracks on this debut EP without a hint of filler although ‘Lost On You’ and ‘Roll With It’ are the ones that really captured me.
They’ve already followed this up with a second EP and seem to play around the South of England fairly regularly. If you’ve any sense you’ll get in early while the going is good.
https://www.eddysmithmusic.com
____________________________________________________________________________________________
PURE TONIC
Bliss N’ Bleakness
Live*Talent
Sort of modern, sort of alternative, sort of classic rock from Germany.
Maybe it’s because I’m an auld fella but I’ve got to a point where I’d like a band to make their mind up.
That’s not to say that Pure Tonic aren’t good. They are. But this is quite an idiosyncratic release with different songs dipping into different genres.
So you get the pop rock of ‘On A Raid’, the near metal of ‘Dance In Hell’ and the sleazy ‘Bad Game’. I enjoyed them all, just not at the same time!
But it’s their debut album and there is certainly plenty of talent on offer. Now if they can make up their mind who they want to be (and the answer should be Pure Tonic) then we’ll all get along just lovely.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
BLACKSUN
Seed Of Hate
independent
Ah, melodic power metal. Get it right, it’s great. Get it wrong and you need to be taken away to a soundproof prison.
Generally, Blacksun get it right. And so they should as they’ve been on the go in various guises since 1993 and have punted out a good half dozen albums over the years. They’re Greek so I’m not going to abuse my keyboard by naming too many names but vocalist Konstantonos and drummer Dimitris really are top notch. The others aren’t too shabby but they leapt out. And it’s rare for a drummer to shine on an indie release. They tend to be on the heavier side of the melodic scale and there are plenty of riffs to keep the metalheads happy.
They’ve got lots of keyboard swashes in all the right places and when everything comes together with a good song then it’s a mighty fine noise. For me that would be ‘Asgaard’s Ride’ and ‘Deadly Caravan’. For sure, there is nothing new going on but if melodic power metal is your thing and you’re looking for something over there. Well it’s over here.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
KINETIC ELEMENT
The Face Of Life
Melodic Revolution
Some American progressive rock now. And it’s the good stuff. You know, like they did in the seventies before heavy metal bands discovered keyboards and claimed to be prog.
So this is firmly in the tradition of Genesis, Genesis and Genesis. With some Yes. Kinetic Element have got over a decades worth of business under their belt, although this is only their third album. And it’s a wee bit of a belter. They have had some Peter Matuchniak coming in to play some excellent guitar. So what you’re getting is some second wave symphonic prog rock. There is nothing here that would scare an old school Spock’s Beard fan away.
I also appreciate the fact that they haven’t looked at a blank CD and thought “we must fill this”. A trap that too many bands fall into. Instead they’ve produced 47 ish minutes of sublime prog with a sneaky wee bonus track in there for good measure. It’s intensely melodic and harmonic with some great instrumental passages on the two epics – the 15 minute ‘All Open Eyes’ and the 20 minute ‘The Face Of Life’. In fact, I reckon the former is my favourite quarter an hour of prog this year.
It’s a joy to listen to with the whole band realising a common purpose. Prog fans should be checking this out immediately.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
St Columba’s Hospice Tribute Fund for Linda Hamilton
http://linda.hamilton.muchloved.com/
The Rocker - The Artist Formerly Known As Zeitgeist. TAFKAZ 
Leave a comment