8/12/2019 14th August Album reviews.txt

1/2

More like trees - Roots, Shoots & Leaveshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGS4zgdvqiYM2JPGTcsZvz9MvEbOWpIGH

The album was really interesting, quite unlike most of what I've listened before. A lot of diversity in the album, elements of Rodrigo y Gabriela but completelydifferent from them in style. I really enjoyed the contrast of the vocalist's gravelly voice and the orchestration of the strings. There was enough going on atany given time to keep me interested without being distracting. Particularly enjoyed 'Rubin' and 'The Night'. If I had a criticism of the album as a whole it would be that it did not necessarily feel as much like an album as a collection of songs, by which I mean they could have been given to me in any order and it wouldn't have made a difference to my enjoyment. As a person who likes a well-constructed album, this was a slight disappointment but since this was the first I'dheard of the band I wouldn't let this take anything away from the music. I would recommend this as a listen for a lot of people - it might not be everyone's favourite style, but it might pleasantly surprise many.

Extreme - Pornograffittihttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4QobpzJctrMr0yjefGX530qTokLsJlqM

Having listened to some songs by Extreme before, I knew what to expect. Even so, I was very impressed by the album. 'Decadent Dance' was a firecracker opener,and I loved the groove of 'Li'l Jack Horny' (despite the tenuous lyrics). Nuno Bettencourt is an expert shredder and I was not disappointed with him on this alb

um, some soaring solos were highlights of the album. There are some songs on thealbum which suffer from being a product of their time, with overbearing 90s-ness causing them to be filler material, but the majority of the album is full of towering tunes, groovy, heavy and entertaining. 'More Than Words' is a well-knownclassic, completely different from most of the rest of the songs but brilliantnonetheless. I quite enjoyed the really random genre slips at places, it kept meon my toes, and the fact I wasn't expecting them means I feel like the album asa whole is a good experience too. I'd recommend this to fans of fairly heavy music who want a groovy change to their usual metal or hard rock. Definitely not everyone's cup of tea nowadays, but I thoroughly enjoyed it regardless.

Praxis - Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpvptU6lmvI&list=PLsZ5SGuXo8zSh3JhZ5zjJ6OOKoaEpSl

r-Trying to listen to this album whilst working was frankly a challenge. Elementsof the music had some pretty good licks and riffs, but those segments were strewn throughout the music like lucid moments in a hallucinogenic dream in which a giant robot is slamming your head alternately into a synthesiser and an electricguitar. That's not to say the music wasn't interesting, it just wasn't easy. Some of the songs were actually pretty awesome, for example 'Seven Laws of Woo' andok to listen to while working because it stuck to one tempo and style. On the whole though, too tough to work with this, but will interest any of those interested in really experimental music. But a warning - it is VERY experimental. I personally probably wouldn't listen to more than a couple of the songs again, but that's just me.

Turbowolf - Turbowolfhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IALpr3X_Opo

This review is slightly hampered by not having access to song names as the version I found was as a single track 40 mins long. However, this album was a reallysolid performer, not nearly as frantic as I'd expected with a name like Turbowolf. Do not confuse this for a lack of aggression - this album was packed full ofhard riffs and punchy vocals, from an extremely tight band and one that does nothold back. The aggression was targeted though, and delivered in great style. While for me personally this band does not change the world, it is undeniably a ve

8/12/2019 14th August Album reviews.txt

2/2

ry good album with a selection of top quality songs. From the point of view of working with it on in the background, it did not distract me, which is a testament to how well mixed and well organised the album is. I'd certainly listen to this again, and will keep an eye on the band's progress to see how they evolve overthe coming albums.