Posts Tagged ‘kev farren’

TAPEtoTAPE lives!

As the eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed, TAPEtoTAPE has been very quiet recently… As excuses go there is a good one, well I think so anyway!

Having spent nearly a month in America with Kodiak Jack recording their second album time has escaped me slightly.  Having been cooped up with Tesla’s Brian Wheat at his newly refurbished J Street Recording Studio for many weeks it has been a struggle to get back up to speed with life back in Blighty.  But we are almost there. Almost.

Over the next few weeks we will be tweaking the TAPEtoTAPE website, revealing the new look logo and of course most importantly, bringing you plenty of reviews news and features.

Coming very soon there will be a fantastic retrospective interview with Status Quo from Pete Makowski’s archives, new interviews with Brian Wheat and SoulMotor’s Darin Wood plus loads more!

TAPEtoTAPE lives, the future is unwritten… well, our future will mainly be written but you get what I mean.

Kodiak Jack team up with Brian Wheat (Tesla/SoulMotor) for album number two!

After a successful 2012 playing gigs up and down the country, several festival slots and plenty of airplay, the time has come for Kodiak Jack to move on…

The debut album Your Death: My Glory received critical acclaim across the board with Room Thirteen calling it “an album that sounds truly epic”, Uber Rock declared it “a top notch debut album, chock-a-block with catchy anthems” and Classic Rock magazine stated “Their debut is assured and urgent”… That however was then, and this is very much now.

January 2013 will see Kodiak Jack returning to the studio to record their sophomore effort and confident that they can eclipse their début with their best songs to date.

We are very proud to announce the band will be recording the new album at J Street Studios in Sacramento, California and that Brian Wheat, bassist with US rock giants Tesla will be taking on production duties.

Having worked with the likes of Deftones and Papa Roach as well as Tesla and SoulMotor, we are excited to be able to follow in the footsteps of some of the USA’s finest exports.

Brian has become a fan of Kodiak Jack over the past year, so when the opportunity to work with him came up we all naturally jumped at the chance.  With his experience on both sides of the mixing desk combined with his ear for a rock anthem we couldn’t wish for a better choice to lead Kodiak Jack to the next level.

Brian will be coming over to the UK for a week of pre-production before we head over to the States to begin the recording process.  Ahead of this Kodiak Jack will be playing at the Deco in Portsmouth on Saturday 19^th January and unveiling some of the new tracks from the album for the very first time.  We may just be able to get Brian along to attend as well…

Recording begins on the 27^th January for four weeks, during this time we will be filming a documentary of the sessions and there will be daily blogs from members of the band so you can keep up with the progress of the album.

Kodiak Jack and Angry Badger Records would like to thank everyone for their on-going support and look forward to being able to share the new material with you all very soon.

The new Kodiak Jack album will be out on Angry Badger Records in Summer 2013, to be preceded by a single in May (tbc).

You can find out more about Kodiak Jack by visiting their Facebook page HERE.

To keep up to date with all future releases you can join the Angry Badger Records Facebook page HERE.

Giftes 1&2 – Antlered Man

It’s not often I play an album which leaves me wondering what the hell has just come out of my speakers, but Antlered Man’s ‘Giftes 1&2’ has done just that, and in the best way possible!  This album has been knocking about for a year and I’m pretty annoyed at not hearing it sooner, but hey the best things come to those who wait!

The album is full of some amazing riffs, bass driven craziness, an onslaught of power house drumming and some incredible song structures.  It’s safe to say that these guys are more than happy to deviate from the verse-chorus-verse styling’s that so many bands are content to stick with.  On the first listen I had no idea where any of these songs were going.  On the second listen, I still hadn’t got it – I just knew I loved it!

Single ‘Surrounded By White Men’ has a slight System Of A Down feel to it and there’s the occasional hint of QOTSA, but don’t be fooled in to thinking that these guys are ripping anyone off because this is easily the most original album I’ve heard in a long long time!

Add them on Facebook or Twitter or whatever, but be sure to get hold of this album if you’ve been hiding under the same rock as me for the last year!

Kev says….

To find out more about Antlered Man click HERE.

Soma Dark step out of the shadows with their new album ‘Begin’.  Packed from start to finish with crunching riff’s and brooding melodies, this is a solid metal album.  Songs on here like opening track ‘Passengers Of Time’ and ‘Forsaken & Falling’ have a more in your face and aggressive edge, not unlike that of Pantera, while other tracks have a moodier feel to them like tracks ‘Breathe’ and ’2505’ which remind me a little of Katatonia (NOT the Welsh indie has-beens Catatonia, but Swedish Lords of the dark Katatonia!)

 There are solid vocals throughout from front man Michael who can indeed belt out a few gutteral notes when called upon, although sometimes I feel he may be holding back a little.  There are some great guitar hooks and you’re never more than a few minutes away from a solo – always a good thing!  Some frantic drumming coupled with a rumble of bass underneath keep the tunes rolling nicely.

My personal favourite track on here is ’Lies Behind’, which goes into an awesome little jam just when you think the song has finished. It’s a fast and brutal track.  It would be rude not to mention the 13 and a half minute epic ‘Sundowns last Raise’ 8 minutes of riffage and galloping guitars before the song fades into 5 minutes of what sounds like some king of Arctic storm. A tad over the top, but who cares? Metal music has always thrived on the occasional bit of eccentricity!

I will be honest and say that the if the album lacks anything, it’s that everything is a safe bet.  There’s nothing that strays into unknown territory. I’m not saying that this is ‘Metal by numbers’ – it’s far more than that – but these guys are obviously talented and I feel that there’s more that they could offer.  That said, let’s finish up on a positive because it’s what Soma Dark deserve. If you like melodic, hard hitting music that’s brimming with riffs, then you’ll like this album.

Kev says….

To find out more about Soma Dark, visit their website HERE.

The Karma Heart are here with their latest release ‘Throw Your Light’.   The album is a neat package of 11 tracks which, after a few listens, has left me scratching my head a little!  It’s not that this is a bad album, because it isn’t. It’s just missing something.  It really could be so much better, but I don’t want to simply come across as being some old cynic because there are some very good plus points on here.

There’s plenty of catchy choruses to sing along to, and the songs generally have the right mix of dirty, scuzzy edged guitar rock laced with a pop sensibility that would make several of these tracks appeal to a wide audience.  It reminds me of mid nineties rockers Bush, but with female vocals.  College radio would have a field day with some of the songs on here – album opener ‘The Fated’, ‘Gravitate’  and ‘Kamikazi Comraderie’ would go down a storm with that kind of audience, as would my standout track ‘Comin Undone’ with it’s punchy riff and anthemic chorus.

My main issue with this album is that I can’t help feeling that the band are holding back a bit.  There’s an air of predictability and all the songs follow a very similar structure which makes it hard for the listener to find anything to really grab their attention.  There’s also a lack of guitar solo’s on the album.  This may be a deliberate thing, and I’m not saying every song should take a leaf out of Slash’s book, but some of these tracks are crying out for a solo! In fact, the overall guitar sound could do with being louder in the mix just to really beef the songs up.  I find some tracks are relying on Jen’s vocals almost too much.  The guitars are well played on here, so why not show it off?

I’ll stop laying into this CD now. There are some genuinely good songs on here which could certainly reach out to a lot of people. On top of that, vocalist Jen has a great voice. It’s not over the top, and it’s certainly not whiney or weak – it’s just right.  I just think The Karma Heart could and should be beating much stronger…

Kev says….

Find out more about The Karma Heart HERE.