RGG June 2015 - p.14
NICK
J TOWNSEND
Celebrating Years
r
gg
since
1995
Verdict:
The follow up album to the 2013 release 'The
Things You Once Knew' begins with an intro more haunting
than Bruce Dickinson's hospital charts and leads straight into
'Vengeance Be My Guide' with all guns blazing and such incredible good guitar riffs that it
honestly made me think "Why can't IRON MAIDEN write songs like this? This second album
from VALOUS does not understand the meaning "Let's put our feet up"; it's alive with activity,
doesn’t get boring and front man Mat Shutt stamps his flawless authority on this record like a
mad man on heat. He's joined on 'Unoriginal Sin' by guest vocalist LC Decoy from the band
LEFT FOR RED and that alone is reason to buy this because it's crushing. Songs like
'The Dark One' deceive you into thinking at first that the pace is dropping or becoming
laid back but happily the song kicks in and you're back in the frenzy. There are no lame
duck songs on here; full of character and originality despite the band being labelled under
a very overdone genre such as heavy metal. Songs like 'My Anger Personified' will possibly
appeal to fans of AVENGED SEVENFOLD or METALLICA but you know what? I really
think VALOUS have a better written album here than say some of the recent offerings from
the before mentioned.
VALOUS
EP:
The Devil's Seven
Buy@:
valous co uk
Web:
twitter com/valousband
Verdict:
North Birmigham based five piece alternative rock and roll band
PLASTIC FACTORY release their EP titled EP containing a varied set of
notable styles hinting possible influences from THE VELVET UNDER-
GROUND with dare I say a musical smidgen of CAPTAIN BEEFHEART. Tracks like "Blitz" flow so well
and nothing is crying out of place; really smooth sounding and reeks indie. A strong frontman drives all
the tunes backed by his more than musically capable band mates and to be honest listened to all the songs
not thinking about a hit single; I just heard a band that I liked and that's better. Perhaps there's a little bit of
PRIMAL SCREAM or THE FARM that's appealing to me? Check out also 'Let's Roll' and 'Cruel World'.
PLASTIC FACTORY
EP:
EP
Buy@:
soundcloud com/plasticfactory
Web:
facebook com/plasticfactoryband
