Saturday, July 31, 2021

CATS IN SPACE - "DIAMONDS"

 

LABEL: HAROMONY FACTORY 

RATING: RRRRR

REVIEW BY: ALAN HOLLOWAY



Cats? In space? Surely some mistake? No, there's no mistake here, as the UK's pop/rock/glam maestros welcome their latest vocalist with a sweet re-recording of some of their best songs.


Cats In Space delivered a real punch to the senses with their last album 'Atlantis', showing off new singer Damien Edwards to great acclaim and sticking firmly to harder tracks to cement their status as a first class hard rock act, regardless of their willingness to drift away from that path a few times. With no opportunities to tour due to the pandemic, the band decided it would be good to get into the studio and get Damien to re record the vocals on some of fans' favourite tracks. Good practice for him, and also another piece of product for their famously voracious fans. 


Edwards is the third man to take the mic in the, and to be honest original vocalist Paul Manzi was never going to be an easy guy to follow up, as he was a great singer and performer who suited the band. Mark Pascall was in the band for a short while, but this release and 'Atlantis' shows that Damien is definitely in this for a while, with plans for his second original album with the band well under way. 


So what we have here is ten older tracks re-recorded by Damien, plus three from the Atlantis album and a live recording of fan favourite 'The Greatest Story Ever Told'. If you're not very aware of the band, it goes without saying that this is a perfect intropduction, with the tracks going in date order, something which really shows off the fact that there's been no dip in quality since day one. You get the incredible title track from the 'Too Many Gods' album to kick things off, and it's obvious that Damien can not only handle this but also makes his own mark with a voice that is as good as Manzi's but has it's own inflections and tones. There's the forgotten dicso classic 'Thunder In The Night' and the short and vert sweet '2.59', plus the more grandiose 'Scarecrow', all being given a new lease of life, though I couldn't say they're necessarily better, just different. Side by side with the originals, it's simply one song done brilliantly two times. 


Cats In Space are an incredibly easy band to fall in love with. There's melody in spades, hard rockers and clever lyrics, and an innate sense of what makes a good song. They dance around different rock genres with ease, never losing sight of what it is that makes them who they are. A must for old fans, and a perfect gift for anyone on the fence. Because cats sit on fences. Tch... I'll get me coat.


Official Site

Thursday, July 29, 2021

Dee SNIDER : "Leave A Scar"

 


Label: Napalm Records

Rating: RRRR

Review by Martien Koolen

In 2018 Dee Snider, aka mister Twisted Sister, released his great solo album ‘For The Love Of Metal’; a must have album for all lovers of classic heavy metal! Three years later Snider comes up with an even better album called “Leave A Scar’, featuring twelve excellent new songs, produced by Jamey Jasta, shouter/vocalist in the metal band Hatebreed. 

Snider’s fifth studio album is again a very heavy album filled with awesome neck breaking modern hardcore and metal core guitar riffs, in the veins of Trivium and Hatebreed. Opening track “I Gotta Rock (again)” – a reference to the Twisted Sister song “I Wanna Rock”? - says it all as it is a very addictive metal anthem indeed! 

Other highlights I need to mention are: “Before I Go” (searing, with a super chorus), “Time To Choose” (brutal, trashy, with grunts from Cannibal Corpse screamer George Fisher) and the almost moshy/trashy “The Reckoning”. “Leave A Scar’ ends with “Stand”, a more than excellent ballad and that one is a 1000 per cent Dee Snider indeed! “Leave A Scar’ is dark, groovy, trashy, loud, brutal, melodic and it hits you in the face with full force; kicked in the teeth for sure!! Meaning: a must have for all heavy metal fans, so buy or die and play at maximum volume!!

www.deesnider.com