Boneshaker - Airbourne

Looks like it's time for another album review! Continuing with the Hard Rock genre, we have the next album from Australian riff-recyclers, Airbourne!

Before I start this review, I should begin by explaining my main problem with their last album (Breakin' Outta Hell). It was an OK Hard Rock album but only if you listened to random tracks now and then as opposed to the whole collection as an album. I liked some of the songs off it but would only recommend buying those tracks instead of the album. Fortunately, it's a much better situation with Boneshaker. It's a collection of great songs that function as individual tracks or a complete album. Sadly one of the worst tracks is the album opener, title track and lead single, "Boneshaker".
It has a dull riff, a plodding rhythm and whilst there are some solid vocal sections to get the crowds pumped up at gigs, it all feels a bit stale. Luckily, with the bar set so low on the first track, the rest of the album successfully delivers a healthy amount of musical aggression and energy instead of slumping back into the safe foot-tapping Hard Rock that usually plagues Airbourne albums. Granted there are a few songs that slow things down or seek comfort in the familiar, such as tongue-in-cheek rocker "Backseat Boogie" and bog-standard filler track "She Gives Me Hell" (the latter seemingly inspired by the band's earlier material, which is always welcome in Rock if done right), but they're few and far between.
The other album letdown is the album closer, "Rock 'N' Roll For Life". It's a fast, frenzied love letter to Rock music although even that drops the ball by containing a weak mix and coming after a much better song to end the album. However, it's still as memorable than any of the bland, basic 4/4 120-130 BPM songs that the band used to love to write. The faster, more energetic songs on the album make decent background music if you're driving or doing housework but since the band have already given us four albums of plodding riffs and rhythms, it's good to finally get one that stands out. The album cover, name and title track all suggested they were ready to do exactly the same thing again and release yet another dull album with a few exciting tracks, especially since frontman Joel O'Keeffe has acknowledged that this album didn't take as long to write as previous ones. Thankfully, it's not just Airbourne being Airbourne.

If I had to single out the biggest change, it wouldn't be the increase in faster tracks; it'd be the decision to try something new. Airbourne have never really taken themselves seriously with their music but there's something about some of these songs that just seem a bit more thought out than others. When I first read the tracklist, I thought it read less like a Spinal Tap record despite some exceptions ("Sex To Go"). I'm not saying the band have to abandon their sillier side to be more respectable but when you're listening to a song with multiple musical sections and lyrics such as "One nation under a nuclear sun now lays rotting above caves of steel, rivers of fire, we await the creatures who walk beneath us", it proves the band still have some desire to try new things. I would expect that kind of willingness to adapt whilst still retaining what makes you great from The Darkness, not Airbourne.
Thankfully, it's not the only highlight. The band have been influenced by the right sources, as some of the many belters have echoes of Heavy Metal bands such as Megadeth and classics such as AC/DC about them ("This Is Our City" and "Blood In The Water", respectively). I'll admit that AC/DC is an easy comparison to make but in the same way Rush and Triumph are often compared for being Hard/Prog Rock power trios from Canada, you won't find a better band to compare AC/DC to than an Australian Hard Rock group who are making a career out of releasing similar albums over and over again.
However, the main difference between AC/DC and Airbourne is that AC/DC usually screwed up when trying to play something that wasn't in their stronger skillset, meaning they'd often revert back to what they could do properly. Airbourne sound like they're ready to take things further one step at a time, which is just as well as their first album came out 12 years ago. This album has plenty of fun songs like "Switchblade Angel", a track with a unique solo (compared to other Airbourne songs) and a short length so as not to outstay its welcome. It's still Airbourne but it's not a carbon copy of 60% of their previous material. It's not as anthemic as the title track but it doesn't have to be; it's a great song and it sounds like it belongs on this album, if only to give listeners something short and sweet to enjoy before the meatier tracks.

Overall, Boneshaker will probably please fans of Hard Rock who want to stick this album on whilst occupying themselves with odd jobs around the house. They toned down the songs about sex and amplified ones inspired by aggression or power like literally everything about the album suggested before you listened to it. If it was advertised as a vastly different Airbourne album, I would've been a bit more sceptical and probably criticised it for not delivering on something the band are only starting to get better at.
Instead, it feels like they (or the record label/producer, probably) wanted to make people think it was something the band have already given us so the changes come as a pleasant surprise, so I give it a 7/10. It's pretty good, I didn't strongly love any of the songs but I liked listening to quite a few of them. Buy this album if you haven't listened to any of Airbourne's previous albums and just want more great Rock. Listen to the album if you like the band/genre and purchase the songs you really like individually. I imagine a tour promoting this album would be worth getting tickets for, as Airbourne strike me as a band who really bring the thunder live and have only just forged a bottle capable of holding it in the studio.
Maybe album number six will be the one where they take a more confident step forward with the asskicking...but I'll probably be fine if it's the same as this one.

The Cult - A Sonic Temple Tour

That's right, another blog post so soon after the last one!
This time, a short write-up of my experience seeing The Cult live at the O2 Arena in Leeds on Sunday 20th October. The last time I saw a gig was Blue Oyster Cult in February which, despite high hopes, was kind of a letdown. Fortunately, The Cult put on a fantastic show which might be great from a viewing perspective but kind of screws me from a "making a joke about bad live experiences based around the word 'Cult'" one.

The warm-up act for the evening were a small band called Piston. They put on an entertaining show full of riff-based-rockers that may or may not have been subconsciously lifted from deep cuts from bigger Rock bands (I swear their song "Rainmaker" uses the exact same riff as "Nervous Shakedown" - AC/DC). Despite boasting a healthy collection of their own fast paced Rock songs and an engaging stage presence to match their energetic music, one of the highlights of their performance was probably their Rock cover of "Proud Mary", sounding like a heavier rendition of the Ike And Tina version.
Based on the glimpse into the band I got during their time warming up for The Cult, I'd recommend Piston to those who aren't aware of them and to those who are, I'd like to offer my congratulations on knowing these guys before me. Check them out, they have a self-titled album out and if you like bands/artists such as The Answer, Slash and (obviously) The Cult, you'll probably get some pleasure out of a bunch of their material. It's not incredible but for a debut album, it does a good job of introducing their abilities and giving you something to listen to on long drives.

Now, onto the main event, The Cult! As the name of the tour suggests, the majority of songs were from their 1989 album Sonic Temple. I missed my chance to see them play Electric in its entirety so I knew I had to see this tour, at least until 2027 when they do Electric again. The band kicked the evening off with a great performance of "Sun King" followed by a mix of Sonic Temple deep cuts and singles from different albums. It made sense for the band to shuffle the order of songs, otherwise they'd be playing the album's two biggest songs within the first half hour. Whilst the album order would've worked too, I'm glad they saved "Fire Woman" until later on, as that's an absolute killer of a track (especially when played live).
As for band performances, I'm thrilled to inform you that guitarist Billy Duffy and vocalist Ian Astbury still have it. Whilst Ian can't belt out lines with the same silver lined pipes he had during the recording sessions, he's still capable of performing new and old Cult tracks with gusto and his banter with the audience was entertaining without being preachy (at one point, there may have been a technical issue but Astbury responded with "Fuck it, you guys don't care, right?" causing a cheer to erupt from the audience before the band played the rest of the set flawlessly). He also seemed genuinely happy to be performing, dancing around on stage and kicking the shit out of his tambourine as opposed to remaining rooted to the spot and hurrying the rest of the band through the set like he had a train to catch.
New band members can play with the big boys too, as bassist Grant Fitzpatrick did an amazing job playing the heavy basslines and maintaining the song's melody during Duffy's solos. Aside from that, everything I thought would be awesome was indeed awesome and everything I thought would be kinda bland was actually pretty good. Favourite underrated gems from Sonic Temple ("New York City", "Sun King") were incredible live and even tracks I wasn't a fan of when I first heard them ("American Horse", "Automatic Blues") sounded fantastic live. The only things missing were a few extra songs off different releases of the album ("Soldier Blue", "Wake Up Time For Freedom", "Medicine Train") but I'm glad we got better songs off lesser known albums instead ("Spiritwalker", "Rise").

The band also made the right choice in choosing the final songs for the evening with "Love Removal Machine" rounding off the main concert and the extended version of "She Sells Sanctuary" closing the two-song encore. Most of the hits were played except for "Lil' Devil" and "Wild Hearted Son" but I'm satisfied with the songs I heard; there wasn't a performance where I felt the band weren't giving it their all and even though I'm sure these guys would've sounded better with slightly less mileage, they definitely didn't sound rusty or fit for the retirement home. Hell, if they keep practising and not releasing albums like Hidden City, they may still be going this time next year.
With that in mind, I definitely recommend seeing The Cult live. I wouldn't call it an incredible show that tops my Top 5 list of all gigs but if I had to place this somewhere on a spectrum of previous live shows (Iron Maiden and Tenacious D in Brighton towards the left on the better side, Judas Priest and Tenacious D in Leeds towards the right), I'd say it's somewhere between the first third and midway point of the line; a solid Great which accurately represents the quality of music The Cult put out during their golden years. That may change over time but I'm glad that the band appear to be enjoying their work as opposed to some musicians with "Cult" in their band name.
The next concert I'm seeing will be Ghost in November at the First Direct Arena, also in Leeds. I have astronomically high expectations for this, not just because their last album Prequelle was my favourite album of 2018. To find out my favourite album of 2019, keep an eye on this blog over the next couple of months! That's right guys, I'm sort of back for a bit!

Easter Is Cancelled - The Darkness

Taking a break from charting Clone Hero customs to review my second favourite album of 2019 so far!
Oh shit, sorry. Spoilers.

A song about calling for the execution of a musical genre.
A song about falling in love with a girl who's hardcore into Death Metal.
A song about the state of the planet and mankind sung from the perspective of Jesus.
A song about the tragic loss of one's deck chair on a particularly windy day.
These and many more can be found on Easter Is Cancelled, the latest album by UK based semi-Comedy Rock band, The Darkness. As you can tell by the artwork above (a huge improvement on the horrible cover from Pinewood Smile), this is an album by a band that aren't ready to take themselves or the musical genre they're so adept at producing seriously any time soon. Much like their last two albums, there's a healthy blend of songs with silly lyrics about mundane British life and absolute bangers with heavy riffs and furious solos.
Album opener and lead single "Rock And Roll Deserves To Die" is definitely the latter, as the song's built around multiple acoustic guitar melodies before charging into a thundering post-chorus riff paired with Justin Hawkins' trademark screeching falsetto. Lyrically, it's grandiose and the subject matter of the song is hardly one to treat with sincerity (especially since the band full-on backpedal on their decree by the album's final track, "We Are The Guitar Men") but it's not designed to have you tittering to yourself like a fool. Hell, nothing on this album is, really.

Compared to the last album that had songs about the terrible UK train service and wanting to have sex with the mums of the younger fans, the humour on this album is a little more subtle. Sure, there are straight up hilarious lines such as "None more Metal, elegance and grace, we make sweet love to Hammer Smashed Face" ("Heavy Metal Lover") but the majority of the humour comes from lines like "You've bitten off more than you can chew, I hope my heart was a tasty hors d'oeuvre, You don't wanna hug, You need the Heimlich manoeuvre" ("Choke On It"); a bizarre but perfect blend of clever rhyming and lyrical structure to make an absolutely ridiculous point.
Ordinarily, I'd compare Rock music with a comical tone to the bigger bands that have dominated the Comedy Rock scene such as Spinal Tap and Tenacious D but I honestly feel like a far more fitting comparison for this album would be mid 70s Queen. No, the vocals aren't as strong as Freddie's and the guitar riffs aren't as classic as Brian May's but the tone of the album feels almost exactly on par with records such as A Night At The Opera. Songs with great melodies and poetic lyrics sandwiched between Arena Rock anthems designed to make the crowds go fucking crazy.
The riff-based piledrivers such as title track "Easter Is Cancelled" leave a great lasting impression and the melodic rockers such as "We Are The Guitar Men" have great repeat value. The sillier songs such as "Deck Chair" are probably the weaker entries due to being focused primarily on the humorous lyrics over the music but at least they make for a great listen once or twice before the joke wears thin. However, the biggest flaw of the album is that they saved some of the best songs for the Deluxe Edition such as Folk number "Sutton Hoo", a punchy little number telling a story about aliens visiting an Anglo-Saxon ship in the past (totally something Brian May could've written).

Easter Is Cancelled is an absolute joy to listen to. Hard Rock belters full of explosive action, catchy acoustic melodies for the music enthusiast in you to enjoy and plenty of mild chuckles along the way; it's basically the musical equivalent to a well-made superhero film. There are a couple of mediocre Rock numbers that are easily forgettable ("Heart Explodes", "In Another Life") but nothing that's bad or poorly made. However, these songs could've and should've been replaced by at least one song that was a bit meatier; maybe a Hard Rock chugger about vampires of Rock or something.
Whilst it doesn't exactly push any boundaries or showcase the band's willingness to experiment like I expected them to, any band that can write and produce a Queen album deserves credit. I rate the album 8/10 (same as Pinewood Smile) and would've given it a 9 if the band decided to include all 14 songs on one album instead of trying to milk fans for more cash. Yes, I still think criticising bands and penalising albums for releasing Deluxe Editions with new music is justifiable, deal with it.