Reviews roundup – Shaped In Dreams ~ Austin Boogie Crew ~ Dogma Inc ~ Bad Montana ~ Nagual
SHAPED IN DREAMS
Echoes of Eldren Deeds
SMA / ISP
Oh, come on! It’s like you deliberately set out to entice me. It’s called ‘Echoes of Eldren Deeds’ and one of the songs has a featured oud solo. Really.
Shaped In Dreams is a project rather than a band with the puppet-master being composer/multi-instrumentalist Martin Matiasovic. And it’s good. Odd but good.
I say odd because it ranges far and wide across the metal landscape from borderline melodic death right through to folk metal. So it can be a bumpy ride in places as he switches from one mood to another. The musicians he’s brought in to bring the music to life have a lot of form with bands you’ve probably never heard of unless you read the really small print. Bands like Black Crown Initiate, Obscura, Obscurity, Alkaloid, Amogh Symphony and more.
The vocals are where the death metal comes in as the guttural roars of James Dorton couldn’t really be anything else. But a lot of the arrangements highlight the classical training of Matiasovic and he even throws in a couple of instrumentals to emphasise the point with one of them going full on jazz piano. The first vocal track, “Fire Within” is probably the most brutal number while “A Giant To Face” is the album highlight where all his influences come to bear on the instrumental build up to some more explosive metal.
“As Life Awakens” with Christina Rotondo on vocals is another gem before Matiasovic bids us farewell with another classical instrumental. It shouldn’t really have worked but it ended up being a delight.
https://shapedindreams.bandcamp.com
AUSTIN BOOGIE CREW
5 Years of Modern Funk
Austin Boogie Crew Records
Modern funk, eh. Odd how it sounds like vintage Cameo.
Not that that’s a bad thing. I was just surprised. Bearing in mind Cameo were cutting edge back in my London clubbing days so I was expecting the intervening decades to have had some bearing on the sound of dancehall funk. But a good groove is a good groove so why mess up something that works. And were I young, gifted and black I could see myself cutting some ungainly moves to this, aided and abetted by. Well, let’s just stop there. I’m assuming statutes of limitations and all that but you can’t be too careful.
To their credit, ABC punt out most of their tunes on good old vinyl, most of which sells out quickly. So if you’re not a download fan you can now grab some of them on this CD. Despite what I said above they’re quite upfront about promoting musicians who take their inspiration from 80’s boogie and have gathered in a bunch of tastemakers from across the globe.
I’m definitely not the target market but even I stirred slightly when “Goodies” by Diamond Ortiz, borderline smush jam “Dancing With Somebody” by Trailer Limon and the Princetastic “Just Want To Love Ya” by B & The Family (hah!) licked in.
Fans of the funk should be waving their hands in the air.
https://austinboogiecrewrecords.bandcamp.com
DOGMA INC
Blacksun Flowers
SMA / ISP
In case you didn’t know the SMA part of the record label stands for Slovak Metal Army. That should give you a wee hint of what’s ahead.
After a very Metallica like instrumental opener it’s full steam ahead with “Even God Denial”. That’s when they get a bit Sepultura like. And from then on they rampage through an enjoyable set of old school thrash meets grindcore with a hint of nu-metal.
They’re certainly technically proficient and when they hit a classic Pantera groove as they do on “The Conqueror” then it makes for a fine sound. The harsh vocals, the blasting drums, the ferocious riffs. They’ve got it all in spades. For sure, there are moments when you end up playing spot the band instead of admiring Dogma Inc but this, their third album, still makes for a good listen.
“Skinless Beast” is probably the track where they sound most like themselves. A few more like that and the fans will come a flocking.
https://dogmainc-sma.bandcamp.com
BAD MONTANA
Eye Of The Hurricane
Jungle Studios
Looking for some punky Motorhead meets a Supersucker at the end of a railway tunnel for a pagger? Then this might be for you.
It’s a one man band, sort of concept album from Sean O’Donnell taking some time out from his main band Black Dragon. And it’s even a concept-ish album detailing the “Rise, Fall, and Redemption of American Rock Star Ryan “Hurricane” Silver”. So there. And how can you not admire the chutzpah of someone who says “picture Angus Young and Gary Moore joining Eric Clapton on stage with Ian Gillan singing over a full on shreadfest” (sic). Shame then it sounds like Ian Gillan playing the guitar and Angus Young singing. No, I jest. He’s actually a pretty good guitarist.
There are even a few decent tunes with “Walk Away” nicely mixing up Dick Dale and AC/DC and the rifftastic “She’s Gone” is windmill inducing. But he’s no singer and it does sound like it was recorded at the end of the aforementioned railway tunnel. That’s a shame because with a decent production and singer there could have been something here. Cool cover art, though.
https://badmontana.bandcamp.com
NAGUAL
A Glass Full Of Karma
OrzoRock Music
Well this was a pleasant surprise. Goes to show you can’t actually judge a book by its cover. I was expecting some generic goth metal. What I got was some rather good classic meets prog rock. Although I’d take my chances with whatever is in the glass of karma being served up by Cezara Potlog on the cover.
After an opening instrumental we’re off into the very Floydian “Kalsarikännit” which, apparently, opens with the words “Fuckety fuckety fuck fuck”. Then it’s time for some classic hard rock on “Above The Clouds” with a crazily melodic riff and some prog keyboards. It’s a cracker.
This is their second album proper although there was an acoustic release between debut and this. Nagual have been on the go since 2006 with a few lineup changes but the core members have stuck at it and it’s well worth it. The moody “Sea of Darkness” is a real highlight going a bit Judgement Day Whitesnake on your ass. The members involved – Luca Sabia – Vocals & Guitars, Vittorio Dodi – Guitars, Giulio Armanetti – Bass, Claudio Bianchi – Drums and G. Fabrizio Defacqz – Keyboards and Vocals should be really proud of what they’ve produced here. I also enjoyed the Saga like “Upside Down” and the Captain Beyond groove of Satori in Sonora”.
It’s as good a record as you’ll hear from any major classic rock band and if Frontiers or their ilk would hold fire on their mix and match projects and actually try to promote an unknown band then this would be fully deserving of a wider audience.
https://nagualrockband.bandcamp.com
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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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