Jonathan Hill

A Soapbox for Uninformed Opinions

Dec
19

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The Darkness Christmas Time Don’t Let the Bells End Review

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The Darkness Christmas Time Don’t Let the Bells End Review

Artist: The Darkness
Album: Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Hard Rock
Released: 2003
Length: 7 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Atlantic, Must Destroy

Track List:

01. Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)
02. I Love You 5 Times

Darkness Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End) Cover

Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End) is a festive EP by The Darkness in 2003 as a bid to grab the Christmas number 1 spot in the UK but landed second after losing out to the joyless Mad World by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews. The single was then featured as a bonus track on the rerelease of their debut album Permission to Land.

Both songs are rife with the same cheeky humour found on their debut album and since there are only 2 short songs on this EP, The Darkness manages make it more obvious than ever on Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End) by letting the double entendres loose to sing about “bells end” “ringing in peace” during the festive season. The song also features a children’s choir and ends with bells and chimes to give it that authentic Christmas feeling while referencing the title in a musical context this time.

Justin Hawkins maintains his falsetto range and somehow restrains himself from his own flamboyant wailing only to let loose in a desperate plea to grab some attention from the choir when his own voice is buried by them on Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End).

I Love You 5 Times is a power ballad that is highlighted by its ridiculous lyrics in which Justin Hawkins confesses that “I watch as you spend an hour or two in the bath like a tuna” and “twice a week I take a peek as you bathe like a reptile”. If this wasn’t enough for you he purrs, moans along to the choppy guitar solo and ends the song with a kiss. The lyrics pull the ballad together and wouldn’t be the same without them whereas Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End) is thoroughly enjoyable even if you are completely oblivious to the humour.

The Darkness put a brilliant, cheeky twist on Christmas cheer by bringing a duo of genuinely jovial songs to the table instead of rehashing tired Christmas classics like countless others have done before.

May
26

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Spiritual Beggars Demons Review

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Spiritual Beggars Demons Review

Artist: Spiritual Beggars
Album: Demons
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Hard Rock, Stoner Rock
Released: 2005
Length: 49 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Icarus Music, Inside Out

Track List:

01. Inner Strength (Intro)
02. Throwing Your Life Away
03. Salt in Your Wounds
04. One Man Army
05. Through the Halls
06. Treading Water
07. Dying Every Day
08. Born to Die
09. Born to Die (Reprise)
10. In My Blood
11. Elusive
12. Sleeping With One Eye Open
13. No One Heard

Spiritual Beggars Demons Cover

Demons is the 6th effort by Swedish quintet Spiritual Beggars. The band draws on influences that span across the rock spectrum to include elements of psychedelic rock, blues rock, hard rock and even heavy metal for the colossal song In My Blood. When meshed together these diverse influences form the basis of the semi-obscure stoner rock scene, of which the Spiritual Beggars are usually associated with.

The lyrics are quite straightforward and focus on the struggles of life, regrets and depression but are presented in a way that is more akin to perseverance than misery. It is the last album by Spiritual Beggars to feature singer Janne “JB” Christoffersson (Grand Magus) whose powerful grit laden voice brings the songs on Demons to life in a way that few others ever could.

His voice is backed by a plethora of catchy, driven guitar leads and passionate solos courtesy of founding member Michael Amott (Arch Enemy, Carcass). This contrasts with bassist Sharlee D’Angelo as his playing seems to exist somewhere in the middle of everything else and while never being washed out, he rarely comes to the forefront. He gives the album a denser sound quality but lacks many of the outstanding moments you’ll hear coming from the guitar.

Spiritual Beggars frequently delve into fluid instrumental passages that give each band member the chance to really come to life and show that they have perfected their craft. Drummer Ludwig Witt injects creative fills between verses and keyboardist Per Wiberg provides colourful, sometimes textural keyboard lines (and an extended solo at the end of Dying Every Day). He often sounds like he is taking on a support role but if he featured more prominently it could have introduced an exciting and different dynamic to their sound.

Spiritual Beggars embody the heart and soul of rock music on Demons and in doing so they create a genre defining album that should have a place in the collection of all rock fanatics.

Apr
23

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Device Device Review

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Device Device Review

Artist: Device
Album: Device
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Hard Rock
Released: 2013
Length: 40 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Warner Bros. Records

Track List:

01. You Think You Know
02. Penance
03. Vilify
04. Close My Eyes Forever (feat. Lzzy Hale) (Lita Ford Cover)
05. Out of Line (feat. Serj Tankian & Geezer Butler)
06. Hunted
07. Opinion (feat. Tom Morello)
08. War of Lies
09. Haze (feat. M. Shadows)
10. Through it All (feat. Glenn Hughes)

Device Device Cover

Device is the new collaborative project started by Disturbed frontman David Draiman and former Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo. The sound can best be described as a continuation of where Disturbed left off with Asylum, only with a return of the electronic effects reminiscent of The Sickness while performing under a new moniker.

Song-writing ultimately remains the same as what you would expect from Disturbed but with a few small deviations. Hunted is the most obvious song to point at for the new bands experimentation. It has Device jumping into the deep end of the pool as they infused slow, ominous electronic segments with louder guitar passages that makes it a credit to the album. If this fusion was a common element in Devices debut, it would definitely bring the album into its own.

Device features a multitude of guest performers with perhaps the most memorable being Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), who performs a duet with Draiman on their cover of Lita Fords Close My Eye Forever. While faithful to the original song that featured Ozzy Osbourne, Device injects their personality into the song to give a fresh take on it that prevents them from cloning the original.

Devices debut will probably be a hit amongst hardcore Disturbed fans after they went on hiatus in 2011. Unfortunately not enough has been done with Device to step out of the shadow of Disturbed sans the occasional flirtation with the electronic elements.

Mar
23

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Andrew WK The Wolf Review

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Artist: Andrew WK
Album: The Wolf
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Hard Rock
Released: 2003
Length: 43 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Island

Track List:

01. Victory Strikes Again
02. Long Live the Party
03. Tear it Up
04. Free Jumps
05. Never Let Down
06. Your Rules
07. The Song
08. Make Sex
09. Totally Stupid
10. Really in Love
11. The End of Our Lives
12. I Love Music

Andrew WK The Wolf Cover

Andrew WK The Wolf Cover

Andrew WK The Wolf Review

The Wolf has some noticeable changes when compared to Andrew WK’s debut effort, I Get Wet. The most striking of which is that the overly sleek, everything-must-be-as-loud-as-possible approach that left all of the instruments in uniform before has been abandoned in favour of creating a more varied and dynamic album. This can be seen through the introduction of flashy guitar leads, louder and improved drum work as well as keyboard/piano playing that comes to the forefront on occasion.

He no longer relies on the simple mantras to be the focal point of each song and has instead opted to replace them with longer verses with marginally less repetition. The lyrics tend to deal with motivation, life and positivity in addition to the love and party themes that Andrew WK has become known for. While sometimes singing clearly, he also falls into a throaty singing voice that isn’t always easy to understand and can feel out of place at times now that the tempo has been cut back across some of the songs.

The expansion on his established style prevents him from becoming a self-parody and won’t alienate his core audience anytime soon with this album as he has managed to put enough new material forward to keep the listener engaged without thinking that it is just a reworking of his last effort.

External Links:

Andrew WK Homepage
Andrew WK on Wikipedia | The Wolf on Wikipedia
Andrew WK on Discogs | The Wolf on Discogs

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