Music Recs: Red Handed Denial, Liliac, Bishop Gunn

Music Recs is an attempt at regular Friday content, the sharing of good music that I found this week, and honestly, just an excuse to promote my favourite old/new bands.

Red Handed Denial – Empire

Have you ever done a YouTube deep dive? Nothing weird, but the delve into the endless depth of recommended videos till you stumble upon something or someone cool, like Lauren Babic. Beyond her covers of bands from Periphery to Paramore, she also fronts the amazing Red Handed Denial. I have but one valid question about her music… does it djent? To that, they say, 0-0-1-1-1-0-0.

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Music Recs: Reignwolf, Joyous Wolf, Hozier

Music Recs is an attempt at regular Friday content, the sharing of good music that I found this week, and honestly, just an excuse to promote my favourite old/new bands.

Reignwolf – Are You Satisfied?

Like rock n’ roll? Pick this album up, stat. Led by amazing blues guitarist Jordan Cook, Reignwolf’s Hear Me Out has March off to an incredible start. His latest work rings with might, blowing expectations out of the water. It is rumoured that those who do not crank Are You Satisfied? up to 11, are likely guilty of blasphemy.

Chiang Mai: Of Temples, ATVs, and Thai Rock Bars

December may just be the best season to avoid the heat in Chiang Mai. Temperatures typically hover around 30°C in the day and 20 at night, which is as good as it gets here. With Day 1 spent away in Chiang Rai, we were down to four days in the city. Thankfully, there was plenty else to do.

Temples visiting was a given. If you have never been to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, you have never been to Chiang Mai, so say the locals. And so we took a songtaew up the steep mountains and arrived at the stairs towards the pagodas, a sight worth every of the 309 steps.

Wat Doi Suthep.

This is a sacred site to the Thais, and is considered to be one of the holiest pilgrimage spots for Buddhists. It has the scale to show for it. Awash in royal gold, the temples and shrines are pure displays of grandeur and magnificence.

Favourite Rock and Metal Albums of 2018 Vol. 2

With ten slots proving barely adequate for this year in music, a second part comes due. Sorry for the lack of consistency, as I slip in and out between soft rock and metal(core) favourites. So try not to lift your finger off that volume dial.

In no real order and in time for the new year, enjoy Volume 2 of 2:

10. The Temperance Movement – A Deeper Cut

The blues continue to invade modern music, as The Temperance Movement releases their third solid rock n’ roll record. A Deeper Cut is yet another next top-notch album to join the impressively consistent collection of indie label Earache Records.

Capable of throwing out raw rockers like Caught in the Middle and Backwater Zoo, the beloved British band is unafraid to slow down for tender ballads such as There’s Still Time and the brilliant title track. And what is perhaps as much our blessing as it is the band’s, Phil Campbell’s raw vocals work amazingly well on both.

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Favourite Rock and Metal Albums of 2018 Vol. 1

Cynics may continue to cry foul at imitators and sellouts in the rock scene, but I stand my ground that 2018 has been good to music fans. Too good, if I dare to be bold. As labels shower us with gifts of addictive blast beats and criminally catchy hooks, I hesitate at the difficult task of playing favourites.

Music lists are tougher still for an indecisive audiophile, who holds on dearly to ancient favourites while craving for new ones. But I’ll take any excuse to re-listen to some of the best records this year:

10. Avatar – Avatar Country

I will always regret missing Avatar live at Download Festival. With their seventh album Avatar Country, the band is set to steal the title of the greatest showmen on the metal stage. Emulating the early persona of the revered Alice Cooper, the born performers are just a hell lot of fun to watch.

Granted that they may play up on the dramatic, their dress-up games never come at the cost of musicality.  Their latest record is full of groove-laden bangers, albeit softer than before. If there is a single track that sums up their serious musicianship alongside their love for fun, get in on The King Welcomes You to Avatar Country.

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Review: Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Bohemian Rhapsody (dir. Bryan Singer Dexter Fletcher, 2018) – In 1970, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon take the stage by storm with the formation of Queen.

Verdict

Bohemian Rhapsody pays tribute not just to Freddie Mercury but Queen and their music, keeping the spirit of the legendary band alive.

Review

Bohemian Rhapsody could have gone the obvious direction, massively drawing upon the darker recesses of Freddie Mercury’s arduous life. But he deserves better. Defined by much more than his personal tragedies, the Queen frontman was ultimately the legend who changed the lives of many with his immortal music and inspiring tenacity.

Writer Anthony McCarten and director Dexter Fletcher (shall we all refuse to acknowledge Singer) fortunately recognised this. While never avoiding Mercury’s struggle with the pressure of his celebrity and sexuality, they neither dwelt on nor exploited it. Instead, the limelight rightfully falls on his many triumphs, be it in his defiance against Queen’s detractors or his inspired penning of the titular magnum opus.