In our next edition ‘Singles Only 2019’, we will be jetting off around the world to the likes of Belgium and Canada to find the best new music. So chill out, read the review whilst listening to them on our Spotify playlist at the bottom of the page. Don’t forget to follow it to keep up to date with the best and brightest in rock!
Dan Romeo- Believe
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After spending the last 10 years playing USA, UK, Europe and recording with producers responsible for shaping the sounds of Paul McCartney and U2, Dan returned to Sydney in February 2018 to underake a new, self-titled project. This resulted in debut EP ‘Believe’ being released last week. The title track is a short track, coming in at 2 minutes 21 seconds, but it packs a lot in. It combines the tempo of a punk song, the melodic vocals of an indie rock song with the uplifting lyrics of a power ballad. These come together as a perfect fit for a catchy song that was made for the big stage.
Venom Prison- Uterine Industrialisation
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With the possible exception of Alien Weaponry, no band has captured the attention of extreme metals fans more, in the last couple of years than Venom Prison. After releasing two EP’s in 2015, The British death metallers released their first full-length album ‘Animus’ in 2016 and are now set to release their second, ‘Samsara’ on March 15th.
‘Uterine Industrialisation’ features all you’d come to expect from Venom Prison: blast beats, outstanding guitar and bass arrangements, visceral lyrics and a phenomenal vocal performance from Larissa Stupar. Here, she showcases her spectrum of skill from her traditional death metal growls through to her tortured shrieks. ‘Uterine Industrialisation’ is raw, ferocius and emotive so you better get used to the name Venom Prison because they aren’t going away in a hurry.
MBG- Make My Day
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Under the guise of MBG, singer-songwriter Leena Rodriguez has self-produced her debut single ‘Make My Day’. After experimenting with a range of genres including classic rock, blues, folk, punk and jazz but she has now solidified her sound as a one-woman rock band. ‘Make My Day’ features a riff which chugs along at the perfect pace, melodic vocals which sound mature beyond their years and a strong vocal hook in the chorus. Whilst clearly influenced by classic rock, it has a definite modern alternative rock feel to it with just a hint of blues, reminiscent of Orianthi. It’s a very strong start to Rodriguez’s career and I’m looking forward to hearing what she does next.
Transients- Burn
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Founding members Sean (Drums) and Simon (Guitars) spent 3 years scouring southern England searching for the perfect line up to complete their vision. Their persistence paid off as they found the men they needed; Josh (Bass), Tom (Guitar) and Joe (vocals). The result is a 6 track EP ‘Enemies Within’ released last week.
‘Burn’ is a great slab of modern melodic metal. With strong metalcore influences, it features heavy growled verses and melodic choruses with some of the best clean vocals I’ve heard from a new band in some time. I admit to being rather sceptical when I first picked this up; metalcore is a saturated market with far too many bands that seem to sound the same. Transients have managed to rise above that and create something which is both entertaining and engaging. Maybe there is hope for metalcore, after all.
That’s all for this edition, thanks for reading! Don’t forget you can check out all the tracks we’ve reviewed this year on the playlist below: