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Sat
01
Aug

UNITY - Pride (2020)

Score: 
94
Categories: 
Reviews

What a great album this is.

Having been bombarded with several hundred new releases in the last few years, THE UNITY had until now slipped under my radar. Let’s fix that right now, with their newly released album ‘Pride’.

The 6-piece German hard rockers fit beautifully alongside the likes of Masterplan, Dynazty and maybe Eclipse even, with 12 cracking rock tracks with surprisingly melodic chorus hooks.

The band keep delivering right until the last track, which itself is a standout anthem. The initial pressing of the expertly produced and mixed album comes with a bonus 5 track live disc. Now its time to go investigate the band’s first two albums. Great stuff.

 
Fri
04
Dec

UNRULY CHILD - Our Glass House (2020)

Score: 
88
Categories: 
Reviews

Unruly Child are one of those bands that should have received more due. Marcie Free is an international treasure and the core duo of Guy Allison and Bruce Gowdy are two very fine musicians who deliver every time.

A band who started with a hard edge but veered more AOR and were accused by some of being too soft have found their grunt again, with this being the heaviest album since the classic major label debut back in 1992.

I love that there’s almost a prog edge to some of the band’s material, their songwriting definitely holds more complexities than the average melodic rock outfit. 12 tracks at 60 minutes means there is a lot to absorb. 10 brand new tracks and two semi-acoustic remakes of To Be Your Everything and Let’s Talk About Love.

What I find distracting is the production quality. The mix is muddy and the programmed drums lack punch and well, lack authenticity. There’s no replacement for a real live drummer.

Playing the album at high (really high) volume, as it deserves, isn’t very easy on the ears.

I love that the album has the moody groove of the debut and there’s some great lyrical angst and antagonism as has been scattered throughout.

Of course, when you think Unruly Child you think hooks and they are delivered throughout – just not as quite as obvious as the past, but a few listens and you can hear them all over the place.


Lots to soak up here and a lot of music to appreciate. Not an instant record, but I like the kind of albums that grow over time much better. If only the production quality was that somewhere close to the debut – then this would have been a monster.

 
Thu
26
Jun

URIAH HEEP - Outsider (Review)

information persons: 
section name: 
BOTTOM LINE
content: 
 
Another very consistent traditional Uriah Heep release. Nothing unexpected – which is as it should be for a band so late into their career.
Heep fans will soak it up and await their next live release!
section name: 
SCORE
content: 

 

84%
Produced By: 
Mike Paxman
Running Time: 
49
Release Date: 
2014
Released: 
Worldwide
Musical Style: 
Classic Rock
Label: 
Frontiers Records
Artist: 
Score: 
84
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Categories: 
Reviews
You don’t get any better example of classic rock than Uriah Heep. The 70s stalwarts prove that rock n roll is the only genre that lasts a lifetime by continuing on their merry way, touring and recording unabated.
Outsider is the band’s latest opus, following up from 2011’s Into The Wild. And as expected we get another slice of pretty consistent blues based rock n roll, where that lush Hammond organ has the same profile as the guitars and rhythm section.
 
For the most part I’m really enjoying what’s on offer here. There are no surprises and no left turns, just straight ahead classic 70s style rock n roll a la traditional Heep.
Highlights within the album include the free flowing Speed Of Sound and the more dramatic One Minute that both get the album off to a strong start.
The double time boogie of The Outsider is fun too; and Rock The Foundation is straight out of the Heep playbook.
Is Anybody Going To Help Me doesn’t quite reach the same heights as earlier tracks, but the up tempo Looking At You is better.
There one track that stands out as a real clunker though and that is The Law. At track 3 I skip it every time and feel that it kills the momentum of the album. Once passed that though, it’s all good.