Annabella is a Vienna based female fronted power duo consisting of the vintage doll Anna, the band’s mastermind who writes all the songs, and the singer Bella, who is responsible for the performance and the musical realisation and together they produce songs based on their own experiences.

I previously reviewed their track Replaced and I was excited to hear what else they came up with, and once again, I love it!

The girls combine classic rock, crunching guitar riffs that drive the track, with a 90’s alternative vibe, while keeping the glam feel the previous track had.

Once again, the guitars are downright dirty and really kick in with the choruses, which are strong and in your face compared to the more sullen verses. Bella’s vocals are once again really powerful, portraying beautifully the emotion and feeling of the song, which is obviously about someone who cheated on the teller of the song! Again, this is something that a lot of people can relate to.

I am really starting to become a big fan of Annabella with every track I hear. The songs are ballsy and gutsy, really having an impact on the listener and the lyrics are immensely catchy!

Awesome track once again girls!

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Hailing from Canada, Campfire Sigh is the collective songwriting talents of Grant Posser, Cody Valentonis and Nate Jacobucci and Different Peninsulas was released on 16/09/2022.

This is a very interesting and colourful album that really does jump from one genre to the next and does so with such ease that you never know what the next track is going to deal you. If I were to list all the genres that this album jumps from and to I would be here all day, but this covers anything from classic rock, to blues, to funk, to soul, to psychedelia and literally everything in between.

There are three different vocals used on the album, each taking their own tracks, and although very different in styles, they are also all remarkably alike. This is in no way a bad thing and gives the album stability and conciseness all the way through. The backup vocals provided by the members of the band NOT singing lead vocals are harmonious and fit perfectly with the lead, giving the album complexity and diverseness.

The musicianship on this album is spot on. The guitars are sometimes so laid back they are almost falling over, but at other times are pretty full on, giving the album a rock feel at times.

The basslines emitting from behind the guitars are funky and are a prominent feature throughout the whole album. I’ve always thought a bass guitar should be heard a lot more in music (probably due to the fact my son is a bass player…or was!) but groovy basslines always make me move when I hear them.

The drumming is great, keeping time and pace throughout the album perfectly. The use of other instruments such as the alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, trombone, trumpet, and alto, bass, tenor and soprano recorders, as well as penny whistles(!) bring in streaks of jazz and soul to an already crowded sound.

Synthesizer beats and sounds also provide a bit of a nostalgic feel back to the 80’s, while the vocal style provides elements of folk and alternative too.

This album certainly keeps the listener engaged and interested as there is always something going on to listen to and the pace and timing of the album also contributes to this, each song having a different tempo to the previous.

Campfire Sigh have a very quirky and eclectic sound that might not appeal to everyone but that is the beauty of music isn’t it? The world would be a boring place if we all liked the same music!

This is a laid-back album that would sound great on a hazy summer’s evening sat around a fire with a beer in hand, the music carrying you away from the hustle and bustle that is life! The album has a very progressive feel too and this is reflected in the technicalities and length of some of the tracks.

This album is not usually the sort of thing I would go for but I actually did like it. Its an album that can show you that what you know and love is not always just what’s out there!

Please go and check out this album and drop the guys a like or two on their social medias.

Rock meets jazz meets psychedelia meets the Beach Boys! What more could you ask for?

Track Listing:

1 What A World We Live In / Flight Of The Anchovies

2 Junebugs / Tin Whistle Theme

3 Whispers From The Dream

4 Jagged

5 Dollar Store Hippies

6 Rotting Away

7 Nothing We Can Do

8 Beach Of Teeth

9 Lucid Snowglobe

10 Correct Century

11 Headless Grasshopper

12 Counterfeit Mystic / Bite Mark Comparison Techniques

13 We Arn’t Captured (We’re Gone)

14 Memories Of Childhood: Featuring Sleep paralysis, UFO, Hornet Attack, And A Dog

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Winchester 7 And The Runners are Winchester 7 (vocals, ukulele), Phil Voorhees (bass) and Jack Kane (drums) and Heart Of The Golden Mystics is their new album, released on 22/12/2022.

Recorded at Winchester 7’s Sanctuary Studio in Atlanta, Georgia, Voorhees resides in Amsterdam while Kane is itinerant in the UK, and they play a unique blend of indie garage rock with alternative, classic and surf influences.

“The album takes our work in a new direction. Remaining varied in musical influence, it puts a murder mystery to music where we know the killer from the start. Or do we?” says Winchester 7 of the seven-track ep/album, a great concept at the best of times but set to music, makes the album even more intriguing.

The album kicks off in a bouncy, energetic way and this is a sign of what is come for the rest of the album. Unlike most conventional rock bands, the lead instrument for these guys is the ukulele and I must say, although something I had not really heard much of before, it works really well.

The album has a total of eight tracks, with a running time of just over thirty minutes, and each song is as individual and eclectic as the previous.

With a very alternative / britpop sound, reminiscent of the late 90’s / early 2000’s, that is evident right from the start, this album even nods back to the 80’s with hints of bands such as The Smiths shining through. Despite all of this nostalgia breaking through, the album still has a very modern feel to it at times and therefore would not be out of place on a 2023 playlist!

The guitar work ranges from heavy rocks riffs to glam rock solos and it is this diversity that really makes this album stand out!

The vocal range of the singer is a major advantage to the band too, one minute he is singing in the britpop style and the next he sounds like he should be singing for a 70’s glam rock band (think T-Rex and you might be part of the way there!)

The timing and pacing of each track are spot on and there is always something for the listener to engage with, meaning the album never gets boring. I have listened to the album through three or four times now and it still sounds as fresh as the first time I listened.

This is a great album to listen to and I will definitely be looking out for anything new from these guys!

Track Listing:

1 The Saint Simon Killer Returns

2 Her Double Life

3 Married For The Money

4 The Sun Of Our Mistakes

5 Miss Merry’s Memoriam

6 Your House Of Cards

7 Things Would Never be The Same

8 Bizarre Love Triangle (Bonus Track)

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New Plague Radio are a US based band who, according to their Facebook page, make “a very specific noise.”

So, what is this very specific noise? Well…. take a pinch of hip / hop, a splash of rap, some electronic beats and mix in some rock riffs and you might just be about there!

This is a band that certainly covers a multitude of genres, while annihilating the lines that separates them all and chucking them into just one category is actually impossible.

Kicking off with some electronic beats before the rapping vocals start, this is a track that needs to be listened to more than once to actually hear everything that is going on.

Classic guitar riffs are included in abundance but so are electronic beats and sounds. The drumming is frantic at times, chilled out at others, the synths give the track a nostalgic feel and there even sounds to be some saxophone sounds in there towards the end of the track to throw in just a teeny tiny bit of jazz.

The vocals are a split of rapping during the verses and clean singing for the choruses, a blend that works really well and the plentiful back up vocals are just insane!

The track has so many layers to it that, as I previously said, more than one listen is needed. There is always something going on to keep the listener engaged and as the track abruptly finishes, you find yourself disappointed that it didn’t last longer (it is just over three minutes in length!)

This song is so refreshing, a nod back to rap and hip / hop times gone by but with a modern, energized vibe that keeps it very much in the here and now.

What a fantastic bouncy tune! Thank you, New Plague Radio!

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Centershift are a band that has been 25 years in the making, after vocalist / guitarist Jasan Radford and drummer Michael Tarabotto first played together, but this incarnation is a band that is brimming with ideas.

“Everything comes from an emotional starting point,” explains Radford who shares lyric-writing with his bandmates to present a unified front. “When we step on stage, we want the four of us to be playing that song because we all feel it internally.”

And emotion is just what this track is full of.

The band draw influences from a multitude of genres, from 90’s rock, to alternative rock to classic rock and this gives them an edge that sets them apart from other bands in the same vein.

The track has a melodic and powerful structure, with great use of guitars, which are slightly fuzzy to give that grungy feel, and drums to portray the emotion in the song.

The vocals are melodic alternative and are backed up with perfect harmonies that give the track depth.

This track wouldn’t be out of place on a late 90’s / early 2000’s playlist but at the same time, it would also be perfect on a 2023 alternative playlist.

The video that accompanies the track shows the band performing the song live in a club and this shows just how dedicated and committed they are to live music, as well as recorded. Come to England and I’ll definitely be there!

Great track that everyone should go and check out!

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Sleep In Motion are a UK based alternative / grunge band featuring on vocals / guitar: Ryan Brooks, on bass guitar: Lewis Brade and on drums / percussion: Alex Smith and All That You Are is their latest single released on 15/12/2022.

This track is a mellow ballad, but one filled with emotion.

The acoustic sounding guitar and laid-back drums are the driving force behind the song in the first part of the track, but this is taken over by the passion-filled lyrics and vocals.

The track has a very alternative / indie vibe to it while also mixing in some classic riffs and melodies.

The singer’s voice is absolutely amazing, strong, and powerful enough to convey the emotion of the song to the listener yet gentle and soothing. There is an edgy vibe to his vocals that, I think, lifts them out of the pop genre but these guys certainly know how to cross the genre boundaries.

The track does build through the verses to the choruses and there is a section part way through the song that changes pace and time, leading onto a gentle section before the track hits a crescendo, when all the instruments as well as the vocals really come in to their own.

This is a great track, I loved it as soon as it started, and I think you will too. I need to get onto Spotify now and find some more from them!

A job well done guys!

This review is purely the property of The Indie Asylum as part of The Metal Asylum

The Airstream Outlaws are a duo consisting of Jimbo Moody on Lead Vocals and Acoustic Guitar and Alan Donoho on Pedal Steel Guitar and Lead Guitar and Vocals. Jimbo from Fort Worth, Texas and Alan is from Dallas, Texas. They produce mostly humourous original songs with a traditional country sound that features the pedal steel as their main lead instrument! Other instruments that feature on the track include acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar, upright bass, and mariachi trumpets! And boy what a sound this all makes!

Combining a traditional country sound, complete with twangy guitars and vocals, with a more classic rock sound, this duo has come up with a quirky sound that is unique to them.

The inclusion of the mariachi trumpets is ingenious as they provide a contrast to the swagger of the country vibe, mixing in a touch of Mexican.

The lyrics are full of humour, quirky and extremely catchy and you will soon be sauntering around your living room to this one, as the words will still be in your head hours later!

This is a great track and, as long as you don’t take it all too seriously, I think a lot of people will agree. I would like to hear a “serious” song from these guys, just for the sake of it, but if humour is what they do, they do it very well.

Go and check them out, you may be pleasantly surprised! They also have another track out…. Chicken Fried Mistake, which was released on 23/12/2022 so check that one out too!

Fabulous track!

This review is purely the property of The Metal Asylum

Crux are an alternative rock band from Newcastle, UK and Save Me was released on 06/12/2022.

I have previously reviewed a track from Crux and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at how different this one was from that one.

Edging more to the alternative rock side of things with this one, it doesn’t have the punk/ska feel the previous one did and sounding more like Pink Floyd than The Sex Pistols, this has a much more grown feel up to it.

The guitars are still fuzzy and grungy giving the track a slightly edgy feel but the drumming, although still spot on, is not a frenzied as the previous track (I bet the drummer was glad about that!)

The sound, as a whole, is more polished but still with a rawness that makes them a rock band, and a bloody good one too. This band jumps from one genre to the next with ease and panache and in the process come up with fantastic songs.

I said in my previous review that I hoped the next track would be just as good but in fact I think it is better, and the previous one was a stomper!

Please go and check out this track. I am heading over to Spotify now to find more stuff from this great bunch of guys! I’ll let you know what I find!

This review is purely the property of The Metal Asylum

Lucid Evolution are an extremely talented foursome from Richmond, Virginia and Wild Soul was released on 14/07/2022. They were formed in the autumn of 2021 and have since built up a strong following.

Having previously reviewed Moments by this incredibly talented band, I was intrigued as to what else they had to offer, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Wild Soul starts off more as a ballad than the previous track, with laid back drums and soft guitar work. The haunting female vocals are still as present with this track as they were the last and I think this is what gives the band their unique sound.

Bluesy guitar work is evident from the off and there is almost a sense of the guitar and the vocalist talking to one another, each feeding off the other. The laid-back snare drums and cymbals in the background are a perfect accompaniment and the bass lines are strong.

The track does build in power and soon there is a crescendo with formidable electric guitar solos that send shivers through your spine and the crashing drums and vocals pick up intensity too.

But it doesn’t end there! The whole pace of the song speeds up part way through and this is a stark contrast to the rest of the track, but a contrast that really does work.

The tempo soon slows down again, and the songs end on the same floaty vibe that it started.

This band know how to mix genres and anything from classic rock, to blues, to stoner rock and psychedelia can shine through at any one time.

Loved it, loved it, loved it!

This review is purely the property of The Metal Asylum

Gary Dranow And The Manic Emotions is a genre-defying musical collaboration, featuring Shem Tate on vocals and bass, Marty Steinberg and Jethro DeFries on drums, Jerry Manfredi on musical direction, and Tommy Mars on keyboards and, having previously reviewed a track by them, I couldn’t wait to hear what was next. Destiny Road was released on 03/12/2022.

Hailing from the US, this bunch of guys have, yet again, come up with a great track.

With the riffs of AOR rock, this track also has the swagger of blues and the nostalgia of classic rock, a great blend if you can pull it off, and these guys certainly do that.

The vocals are reminiscent of a typical 80’s classic rock with an edginess that keeps them bang up to date. The drumming is spot on and the bass lines coming through are superb. The guitar playing has a classic sound but the bluesy element, think Gary Moore, shining through really does put a great spin on the track.

There is a slight melancholic vibe, intentional or not I do not know about the song but this, I think, only adds to the allure of the track. This will appeal to classic rock and blues fans alike, so I urge you all to go and check them out.

I still have a couple more reviews for these guys to complete and I am sure each of those will be just as good as this one! I am really excited to hear what else they produce!

This review is purely the property of The Metal Asylum