This week we review the latest albums from Leathermouth, and Subtract.
1 star (out of 5)
It's unlikely these garage dwellers would have had a commercial reality, if it weren't for their friend, Frank Iero.
Guitarist with My Chemical Romance, Iero stupidly saw promise in a bunch of his hardcore mates.
Charitably, he not only allowed them to ride his coat-tails, he decided to scream his own unintelligible lyrics over the top of their mangled mess . . . bad move.
Fans of M. C. R beware, there is nothing remotely rock-friendly about XO. Sonically inept, Leathermouth's biggest crime is marketing XO as akin to the likes of Black Flag.
Leave well alone.
Single download: My Lovenote has gone flat (check out the Motorhead plagiarism)
For those who like: Self-inflicted pain
- Mark Orton
3 stars (out of 5)
Revered New Zealand metal act Subtract is anything but prolific.
Here it breaks five years' silence with possibly the best set of tunes penned yet.
Winning Hearts and Minds might be an EP, but with six lengthy tracks there is a shed load of crushing down-picking to salivate over. Apart from adding guitarist Evan Short, not much has changed.
Subtract tames old-school metal tendencies with razor sharp contemporary nuances. The chiropractic nightmares occur when the guitars snap out of the plodding filler into some full-tilt boogie assaults.
The "death growl" is a little tame. Bring on a full album with some decent vocals.
Single download: Cashing In
For those who like: Pantera, Megadeath, Lamb of God, Trivium
- Mark Orton
