Browsing Tag

Rock Opera

Alt-rock thespian Lucifers Beard worked his histrionic magic in the conceptual sequel single, Lady Loser

Posted on 18 December 2022

After we rolled with the punches in Lucifers Beard’s single, The Guy with a Black Eye, we’re stoked to sink our teeth into the conceptual follow-up, Lady Loser, which takes place years after the antihero’s skirmish, where the arrogance has subsided to themes of loss, regret, forgiveness, and hope.

Until the outro, the brashy tumultuousness has been dialled back to give way to the crooned vocals that envelop you over the theatrically psychedelic rock opera-Esque score that still emits electrifying energy, but there’s a remorsefulness spilling from the thespian rock arrangement, mastered by Ed Ripley (NOFX, Frank Turner, Goat Girl).

As the song concludes, after the swan song-ish ensemble, we hear Lucifers Beard’s maniacal charisma get a last burst of juggernautical creativity. It is enough to make you desperate for the story to become a trilogy.

Lady Loser will officially release on December 15th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cartoon music group Pios Phantom guides us from sadness to gladness on ‘Is It Si or Is It No’

Posted on 6 April 2022

Fusing in a magnetic blend of brit-pop, pop-punk, power pop, classic rock, country, folk and EDM, Pios Phantom shows us that peace and love is the only thing that we need to be chasing with their fun new single, ‘Is It Si or Is It No‘.

Balarama Clemens Plaum aka Pios Phantom is the founder of this catchy cartoon music group. A Yoga teacher who comes from a small village in Germany, he leads this peaceful group to make that stunning rock opera you can’t help but forget.

”My project is a global one. The name pios Phantom comes from rotating the letters OM (love) shanti (peace) pop.” ~ Pios Phantom

Moving us gently away from any negative waters that can sink our mood down into those sad rocks of doom, Pios Phantom are a band that needs to be played loud and proud. They are all about love and flying high like an inspiring dove – to show us where to go – and to stay positive throughout and avoid the carnage that can scrape your skin and cause your shine to burn away in the night.

‘Is It Si or Is It No‘ from the German-born cartoon music group Pios Phantom, sends us into a better world that has us smiling from ear to ear. This is a track that will have you feeling that everything is going to be okay again, with some soulful vocals and a beat so likeable, that your whole family will be begging you to turn up the volume. Filled with only happy intentions to spread some of that much-needed tenderness, this is a spectacular single to shake off any of those grumpy cobwebs you had previously.

Listen up to this joyful new single on Spotify and see more news via IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

PRESSURE inspect the sands of time in their rock ballad, AM I TOO OLD.

Posted on 10 October 2021
PRESSURE

The Stockholm-based powerhouse PRESSURE is set to drop their hard-hitting rock ballad, AM I TOO OLD, which tears through the self-doubt that starts to manifest in our mortal coil when youth has been lost. In true rock opera style, PRESSURE touches on raw issues veraciously while letting the atmosphere consume you in the intensity of the emotion.

I’ve lost count of the people that have come to me with ageism-inspired anxiety in the industry; the truth of the matter is that experience will be a better friend than youth ever was. I mean, you’ve heard of the Rolling Stones, right?

AM I TOO OLD is a stellar track, in every conceivable way. The theatrics of the track will take you right back to the time when we spent far too long thinking about what Meatloaf wouldn’t do for love.

AM I TOO OLD is due for official release on October 15th, 2021. You can hear it for yourself on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Billy Moffat has released his symphonic masterpiece, Through the Eyes of God, featuring Davie Brockett.

Posted on 19 June 2021

Scottish-born composer Billy Moffat brought plenty of his experience touring the globe with the show, One Night of Queen, to his latest release, Through the Eyes of God, featuring Davie Brockett on guitar.

Starting with dramatic neo-classic keys, there are no hints in the production to warn that the stunning crescendos will soon give way to over-driven scuzzed-up guitar solos that easily match the furore in an Apocalyptica track. Davie Brockett’s searing solos blazon the professional instrumental score with even more virtuosic stripes.

Though the Eyes of God is, quite literally, a jaw-droppingly symphonic masterpiece that will easily leave you ensnared by the sheer nuance and Moffat’s ability to compose a score that will put your rhythmic pulses under instant command.

The orchestral release is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia

Mark Baughman’s Working Theory take it to the barricades with ‘Racing To The Bottom’

Posted on 17 June 2021

With four rock operas already under his belt, Working Theory is the performance project of lyricist and composer Mark Baughman, telling the story of waking up in the cells after a walk in the park, caught up in protests and near-riots. Heavily influenced by the Civil Rights movement and the events of late 1960’s America, Baughman’s lyrical narrative weaves a tale of soldiers battening down the hatches and cracking down on unrest with an iron boot, arresting as many as possible and scattering the rest like a bunch of frightened bad rabbits.

Piano driven and soaked in reverb, with centrepiece lead guitar and saxophone solos, ‘Racing To The Bottom is potent and emotive, sounding – as you might expect – very much like a showtune from a Broadway musical, perhaps something from a modern-day re-interpretation of Les Miserables or Hair.

You can hear ‘Racing To The Bottom’, and more of Baughman’s work, on Soundcloud. Check out Mark Baughman here and on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Nicolaas Walle And Friends show us what it means to be human in their latest release, Human Nature.

Posted on 8 June 2021

Scuzzy keys, theatrical crescendos and doom-laden vocals are just a few of the components in the latest release, ‘Human Nature’, by Ireland-based alternative artist Nicolaas Walle And Friends. The progressive two-track release will allow you to imagine what the War of the Worlds soundtrack would sound like if Depeche Mode and King Crimson lent their deft hands to the production.

Human Nature, Pt. 1 is a cosmonautical adventure through the avant-garde; after ominous male vocals and progressive instrumental alchemy that will be a hit with any fans of Rush or Genesis, female vocals bring a sense of fragility and mortality into the spacey mix that will set your imagination alight.

After making their debut in 2018, the self-produced multi-instrumentalist has enamoured plenty of the Emerald isle but discernibly, his sound boasts an international commercial potential that we can’t wait to see come into fruition in 2021 and beyond.

You can check out Human Nature for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

OCEANS OF TEARS have released their locked and loaded single, ‘Bullet in a Gun’.

Posted on 27 May 2021

Escape 2021 and catapult yourself back to the 80s with OCEANS OF TEARS semi-autobiographical rock opera single, ‘Bullet in a Gun’. If you need more music in your arsenal that speaks to you on an evocative level as well as an anthemic one, you will want to make Bullet in a Gun a playlist staple.

Their forbiddingly electrifying single starts with synth-driven discord that sets a B-movie-style macabre tone before the lyrics start to subversively find the parables between carrying around a loaded gun and drink-driving. While many rock acts rush to clamour about reckless hedonism, OCEANS OF TEARS artfully vent the broiling rage towards self-centric and self-destructive behaviour. That’s definitely a trend that I’m on board with.

Bullet in a Gun is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jade Moede gives garage rock a brand-new meaning with their single, ‘No More Lies’.

Posted on 2 April 2021

If you merged The Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Greased Lightnin’ from Grease and threw in a little Pink Floyd attitude, you’d be left with an aural crumble not all too different from Jade Moede’s vintage rock track, ‘No More Lies’.

The theatric hit will almost leave you wondering what rock the artist has been hiding behind since the early 90s, and that’s no criticism. Anyone who appreciates filthy riffs, minimal production and sleaze rock-style unfuckwithability will have plenty of fun getting acquainted with Jade Moede.

You can check out No More Lies for yourselves by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

OCEANS OF TEARS told the ultimate redemption story with ‘IF LOOKS COULD KILL’

Posted on 2 April 2021

It certainly isn’t every day that you get to enjoy an empowering redemption story through rock n roll, but thanks to OCEANS OF TEARS’ rock musical ‘DROWNED IN A SEA OF TEARS’, you’ll get to enjoy theatrical intensity alongside glam rock riffs and supercharged synths. Especially in the standout single ‘IF LOOKS COULD KILL’.

With dirty rhythms coalescing with dancey beats that wouldn’t be out of place on a 90s dance workout tape, IF LOOKS COULD KILL is a sonic trip down the sunset strip with a side serving of adrenalizing lyricism which acts as a reminder that you’re stronger than you know.

The official video to IF LOOKS COULD KILL is now available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rock n’ Roll Opera gets overblown and fabulous with ‘The Fortunate Few’

Posted on 26 January 2021

While the lack of lockdown giggery has seen any number of recording projects take shape in home studios the world over, it takes a different kind of boldness to write an hour-and-a-half of brand new rock opera. That, however, is what The Fortunate Few present us with here and…well, it’s ace. Screeching guitar, a perfect Hammond organ part, and stunning male and female vocal parts, this is the opening track to an eighteen-track extravaganza and it sets the tone perfectly; the story begins with Mr. and Mrs. Todd at home, watching television, when a commercial comes on for Bendall’s Clinic…and…we’re off and into the Fortunate Few.

In the not too distant future, babies are grown in clinics and bought like cars or household appliances – sure, it’s easy to draw comparisons to Rocky Horror or Little Shop Of Horrors, although this is closest to the soundtrack to the awesome Circus Of Horrors (there’s perhaps a ‘horror’ theme, here), this is proper bombastic, overblown, 1970’s-style rock pomposity, and frankly it’s absolutely stellar.

Check out the Fortunate Few live, or follow on Facebook or Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes