Ryan's Gig Guide - November 2019

THE VERDICT BY NICK J. TOWNSEND Greetings weaklings. Some very sturdy music coming out of the Midlands and it’s a sign that artists are working substantially hard in the recording studios; keep it up all and let’s make this music scene a vibrant and happy place but don’t fanny about in the writing room. Third studio album from Midlands melodic metal act Winter Storm; arguably their strongest release to date due to the sheer strength and diverse nature of the song writing. ‘In Time’ for example is layered with so much deep emotion and power thanks to an incredible vocal performance that it almost comes off as a modern day metal version of the classic ‘Auld Lang Syne’. Technically speaking this is a well oiled shredding machine and highly recommended for fans of Lacuna Coil, Nightwish and Opeth. Songs like ‘Ever Dark’,‘Dreamscape’ and ‘AstralWorld’. Heavy handed with plenty of fast guitar riffage for all the speed metal addicts out there and there’s definitely more of a heavy metal shift in tone for this album. Overall I think you’ll really enjoy ‘Relapse In Time’, especially if you love strong canorous female vocals combined with euphonious shred riffs. www.facebook.com/winterstormuk ALBUM OF THE MONTH WINTER STORM: Relapse In Time This is the debut video from Midlands blues outfit Big Wolf Band and my dilemma here for labelling it ‘Music Video Of The Month’ is that I myself actually directed this for the band. However, I can’t help but praise the Big Wolf Band for such a great performance and it would be more of a crime if they weren’t mentioned by me so excuse the bias. Filmed in Wolverhampton at M2 Studios “Never That Easy” is a hands down visual demonstration of how to rock on camera with much credit to vocalist Zoe Green and her dynamic delivery; the entire band are pure fantastic to watch in action and this is definitely worth your time.As a song “Never That Easy” is a real tear jerker if you allow it and tastefully deals with the very serious subject of depression. The music video can be seen on the official BigWolf Band YouTube channel and Facebook page. www.facebook.com/thebwb MUSIC VIDEO OF THE MONTH BIG WOLF BAND: Never That Easy www.ryansgigguide.com 8 rgg Nov 2019