Reviews roundup – Running Wild ~ Bill Bruford’s Earthworks ~ Dead Venus ~ Ark Ascent ~ Soom
RUNNING WILD
Crossing The Blades
Steamhammer / SPV
I’ve always had a soft spot for Rock N’ Rolf and his meat and potatoes classic heavy metal.
I mean they’ve never claimed to be reinventing the wheel, they just get on with the business of being Heavy and Metal.
That’s what they’re doing here as they start to limber up for a new album in 2020. After all it’s been three years since “Rapid Foray” so they need to make sure that their fanbase hasn’t forgotten them. And this is exactly what you would expect from them. The title track (and title of the next album) is proper eighties metal that will have you punching the air. This is, apparently, a different version from the one that will appear next year. ‘Stargazed’ is next and certainly has a touch of Dio about it. They played this at Wacken in 2018 so it’s been well worked out. Cover time and it’s ‘Strutter’ by Kiss! Yes! Turns out Rolf was at one of their farewell shows where they didn’t play ‘Strutter’ and seeing as how it was Kiss who prompted him into forming a band in the first place he decoded to play homage. A fine version it is too. Finally you get ‘Ride On The Wild Side’, a song that won’t be on the new record and as it’s the weakest song by far, that’s no surprise.
Still 3 out of 4 ain’t bad and if you like your metal to be, well, metal, as I do, then this is a bit of a treat. It’s digital, Digi CD-EP and 12” Vinyl-EP, 180g blue vinyl.
https://runningwild.bandcamp.com
BILL BRUFORD’S EARTHWORKS
Heavenly Bodies
Summerfold Records
A compilation originally released in 1997 as a single album, this sees the 13 tracks joined by a second disc with an additional 10 tracks. It brought together material from the 1987 – 1994 Earthworks period and the new version adds in tunes from the reconvened 1998 – 2005 Earthworks.
Now Bill Bruford may be (rightly) lauded for his solo work as well as his stints with Yes and King Crimson but the early Earthworks saw him spending a lot of time with electronic percussion. I’m sure that was lovely for him but it did kind of defeat the purpose of being Bill Bruford. It’s a shame because of eighties contemporary jazz is your thing, then there is a lot to enjoy here. The Bates, Ballamy, Harries aggregation works incredibly well and the “Dig?” material is a real high point. But if I’m being honest (and I usually am), it’s the second disc that floats my boat.
There is more of an acoustic element and the piano work of Steve Hamilton (no relation) is a sheer delight. There are a couple of tracks from “The Sound of Surprise” that had me rushing back to the original. There’s no nothing new or unreleased but it comes with newly written liner notes (including some from Bruford). If you’re new to Earthworks I’d give it a go.
DEAD VENUS
Bird Of Paradise
independent
This is rather good. Singer and songwriter Seraina Telli has previous form both in prog and metal bands but it’s definitely the former that gets her creative juices flowing.
Because this is none more prog as Ms Telli and her two bandmates set about pulling all the various art rock, jazz rock and pure prog that make up “Bird Of Paradise”. They’ve very fond of proclaiming the lack of electric guitars on this album but if they hadn’t mentioned it I’d never have guessed. The arrangements and songs are so strong that you get drawn in straight away and with the use of acoustic guitars and assorted keyboards the lack of electricity is never missed.
Ms Selli has an excellent voice which can do the whisper to a scream thing and when a truly marvelous song comes along you can along applaud what you’ve just heard. That’s ‘Human Nature’ that is. It’s one of the best songs I’ve heard this year bobbing and weaving all over the place. That’s not to do down many of the other good tracks on offer but it’s absolutely outstanding.
Wherever they set their cap they seem to pull it off and this is a record that really needs someone shouting from the rooftops to alert the world of prog that it is out there. A late contender for my Top 10 albums of the year.
ARK ASCENT
Downfall
Ascent Records
Well this is getting billed as prog metal but it seems like pretty straight doon the middle power metal to me. Which is fine, by the way. I know what my studded wristband likes to punch the air to.
Ark Ascent are a new (but not really new) UK band and this is their debut album, although they’ve got some previous form with Rogue Marechal (ex-Shadowkeep) on vocals and Andrea Arcangeli (DGM) on bass. Katia Filipovic plays piano, along with Jack Kirby on drums, guitars and keyboards. It seems to be the latters baby and some of those tracks were first recorded back in 2011 hence the (but not really new). Was it worth waiting eight years? To be honest, nothing is worth waiting that long for and there is always the danger that you will over egg the pudding. The record itself is a sort of concept album dealing with the small matter of the impending apocalypse. Sweet.
The good things. Some of the guitar riffs are great. Take a listen to ‘Darkest Hour’ if you don’t believe me. The vocals also suit the music, sitting up in that higher register. It also works best when they get a wee bit adventurous as on ‘The Aftermath’. And when they do go full on prog metal on the closing ‘The End Of Time’ it’s superb. But a lot of the songs sit firmly in the middle without making too much of an impact. There’s certainly half a good album in here and if Mr Kirby lets his imagination run riot there is no reason why a great album couldn’t be round the corner. Since this was recorded Rogue Marechal has departed with Michael Brush (Sirenia, Holy Tide) taking his place.
https://www.facebook.com/arkascentband
SOOM
Ніч на полонині | Night on the Meadow
Addicted Label
Is there ever a bad time for some experimental Ukrainian drone? Probably not but if there were it would be to discover them 5 months after they split up. Which is what I’ve done.
Soom are no more. My Ukrainian isn’t really up to speed but it seems as though mainman Al Kova has fallen out of love with music. So no more atmospheric ruminations on Ukrainian mysticism. However they’ve left a few artifacts for future generations, among them this, which originally came out in 2014 but has only recently landed on my doorstep.
And it’s dark, funereal and the kind of thing that gives you sleepless nights. I certainly wouldn’t want to camp out in the Cherkasy forest with this on my headphones. It would only be a matter of time before the demons that haunt my head sprang to life. At times they delve into the world of sludge (‘Grandpa’) and more traditional stoner sounds (‘Strange Dream at 419 Years Before Awakening’) but as a general rule this is the sound of something about to go very badly wrong. Obviously I’ve got no idea what the words mean and it works best when they pay no attention to musical conventions of any kind.
The soundtrack to my own internal horror movie.
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St Columba’s Hospice Tribute Fund for Linda Hamilton
http://linda.hamilton.muchloved.com/
The Rocker - The Artist Formerly Known As Zeitgeist. TAFKAZ 
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