Demo Review: King Cobra- (21/12/2013- Self-Released)

A bold four piece Rock 'n' Roll band based in Twickenham, London, King Cobra are, in their own words, a "straight up, no frills" diverse band delivering old school songs in a modern way. Formed late last year, King Cobra is made up of vocals courtesy of Daniel Marder, Alex Phillips on drums, Oli Holland is the bassist and the band's guitarist is George Sandle. Their influences include Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Airborne and Motorhead and they released their debut demo on 21 December 2013.

Produced by Thomas Hill, who has worked with Artemis and Glow in The Dark Shark and has been mixing for five years, the demo was completed on 1st December. The first track 'Snake Eater' blasts through your ears with a hurried, vigorous instrumental beginning;. It explodes with aggressive power making it obvious that King Cobra make their classic hard rock influences shine through their music but intend to make their own unique, lively flair shine through. The vocals really are dynamic, intense and energetic and but never outshine other instruments, which is a rare, positive aspect in music.
 

The track is surprisingly intrinsically produced and technically fantastic. The blend of old school and innovative styles allow King Cobra to prove their individuality, creativity and professionalism. Their songwriting abilities are well beyond what you expect to find from a band formed just a few short months ago; they clearly know who they want to be as a band and how they intend to showcase their tricky, ambitious musical abilities and passion for what they do.

With its progressive flavour and thundering, thumping rhythms, the demo continues to be slick as hell with as many impressive guitar solos intermingled with instrumental sections that its possible to throw into a demo. And with 'Trapped Inside' emphasising the 80's inspiration that King Cobra have, the fiery track is relentlessly upbeat with a dark edge and the vocals in particular are engaging and vibrant. But it's the final guitar solo that hits you right between the eyes and brings the song to a dramatic end.

With their mysterious, electrifying, old fashioned finesse, the band are able to illustrate their gloomy lyrics juxtaposed with exuberant and colorful style. It's exciting to discover what other skills and styles King Cobra will unravel in their future releases.
 

5/5

 

Check out King Cobra live at Kingston's Fighting Cocks on 23rd March 2013 https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/641834919186571/

The Sacrificed- ‘III’ (31/01/2012 – Roxx Records/Divine Metal Distribution)

     The Sacrificed is a metal and progressive Christian Rock band from Lakeland, Florida who were formed back in 2005. Despite different backgrounds and musical influences such as Dream Theater and Iron Maiden, the band shared Christian faith. Their first demo, ‘The Da Vinci Hoax’ was released in March 2007 and was signed by Roxx Records in 2009 and recorded their debut album ‘2012’ in July of the same year, aiming to reach a much wider audience. After adding two more band members, ‘III’ is intended to be simple yet powerful and represents this as the band’s third effort, whilst also reflecting the three nails that were meant to have pierced the hands and feet of Jesus Christ when he was crucified.

'Powerful' Album Artwork

      Despite being wary of uproar the mainstream world may bring to the controversial album art, the band emphasise that their music and lyrics can reach out to any listener. Commencing with the theatrical, scary movie style spoken lyrics ‘A plane has crashed into the world trade centre…’, ‘The World is Changing’ attempts the Angels & Airwaves, 30 Seconds to Mars or Rise Against flair with very little effect. Merging into ‘Falling’ which immediately crash lands into a much heavier, metal style. Subconsciously, many perceive metal as full of anger and hatred and The Sacrificed’s attempt to eradicate this idea with terrible sound effects but decent guitaring, combined with odd vocal styles and lyrics. The worship and prayer orientation of this album is almost like a parody of more mainstream metal music.

      ‘Ark of the Covenant’ works well in terms of rhythm and instrumentation, but its aspiration to be powerful and not for the faint hearted is definitely questionable. Perhaps even laughable. However, The Sacrificed speak from the heart and make music about what is important to them, which is something to admire from any band or artist. Yet, referring to divisive topics, even amongst the Christian community, such as the reality of the crucifixion of Jesus and how horrific it was meant to have been, does not bode well with the Christian or Metal conventions as such. ‘The Nephilim Agenda’ (yes, I have no idea either!) and ‘Times Up’ illustrate almost inaudible vocals, excessive guitar solos and no worship elements whatsoever. From my experience, Christians tend to devote time to showing God, and people around them how much they appreciate him, in a joyful and more peaceful manner, with the likes of Hillsong United and Phil Wickham.

      Although, with a much lighter, more sentimental elegance, ‘Words on The Gin’ has the potential to be much more effective, but is very lacking lyrically. ‘Behold The Power of God’ may come across as another emotion or worship driven offering, but The Sacrificed opts to revert back to their odd merge of Metal and God. By convention, Metal tracks tend to be rather long, but ‘Regeneration’ is so repetitive, its 4 and a half minutes snails by, much like ‘Offended’ does.

The Sacrificed: Merging Metal and Christianity  

      Concluding with ‘Before the Storm’ and ‘24’, ‘III’ fails to provide the promise The Sacrificed propose they are capable of. With an unruly merge of Metal and Christianity, inaudible or ineffective lyrics and a few decent guitars solos thrown around, the album, especially for a third release, it abysmal and fails to reach out to either Metal heads or Christians.

0/5

BlackMamba- Self-Titled EP (28/01/2010 – Self Released)

     BlackMamba are a Classic Rock band from North West England. The band also label themselves as Hard Rock, which is somewhat questionable, although their inspirations include the likes of Aerosmith, Iron Maiden and Guns ‘n’ Roses. This, their very first EP, was released on the 28^th of January last year. They are currently one of 50 acts to make it to the final stage of the ‘Live and Unsigned’ competition after auditions earlier this year.

The album artwork for Black Mamba's Self Titled EP

     The band have a very speedy, old school, 1980s-driven sound from the get go with ‘Give Me Poison’ which is anthemic despite it being amateur. Yet the track does not quite have the arena filling potential of their inspirations but is a very positive foundation for the future. ‘Refuse To Lose’ is not repetitive as such, but very cyclic and not quite as hard-hitting all the way through as it could be, as the band almost appear to literally lose momentum towards the end of the track. Black Mamba are almost like a good ‘80s tribute band, in the same effective style Jack Black utilises for his role in the 2003 film ‘School of Rock’. Despite this, the second song is composed of a more metal vibe, with speedy guitaring and great drumming via the symbol.

     However, lyrically, especially in ‘Losin’ My Mind’, BlackMamba should not be afraid to reach a deeper emotional level, as well as the 80s association with endless drinking and drug consumption; ‘this bottles your only friend.’ These somewhat limp and white-washed lyrics eradicate the potential the band may have for a wider fan base who truly appreciate them as a band in a sentimental sense. Although the guitar solo is nothing short of spectacular but one cannot help but think of the band as wannabe punks of an era well before their time or comprehension Steel Panther are mickey takers of the very genre and period they are performing through and are very sure of their sound and style. Even in final track ‘Tooth Ache’, however melodic the song appears, assisted by the gripping, intense bass, its lyrics of ‘What doesn’t kill me will make me stronger.’ let them down severely once more.

BlackMamba have yet to nail their image...

     BlackMamba has a good foundation of great instrumentation and vocals, but their appearance and overall flair leave a lot to be desired.

2/5