ALBUM REVIEW: Tronald - "Tronald"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 30/09/2017

Label: APF Records

…combining distorted guitars, chugging bass and flicks of vocal melody trapped under a crushing boulder of decomposing blackened death metal. It is raw and piercing in a fashion you cannot reasonably expect on a debut. But there it is, moldering for your delight.

“Tronald” CD//DD track listing

1. Tronald

2. Boss Keloid Are Shit

3. Obelisk Ov Hash

4. Dalnort

5. Gains (Prelude)

6. Vegan Gains

7. Get Your Grubby Little Hands Off My Bennell

8. Burgled Senseless

The Review:

Over the next four years, it is all but assured that you will hear the voice of U.S. President Donald Trump a lot more in extreme music than you ever thought possible. Some of it will certainly be based in outright opposition; there have been a trickling of music thus far critical of the new Commander in Chief by everyone from Prophets of Rage to rapper YG, whose "Fuck Donald Trump" last year gained the California native a lot more notoriety than he previously had. However, much more from metal will surely be inspired by Trump's strongman persona. His over-the-top threats and flowery promises from a world leader are the stuff of Megadethand Queensryche concept recordings. Hearing President Trump's bluster on "Danlort,"off Tronald's self-titled debut, you may be reminded that this period could musically be a very long four to eight years.

The specter of power is one that metal has reflexively rebelled against, whether it is the doctrines of organized Christian faith, authoritarians of every stripe or the stricter social norms that define mainstream culture. Usually such aggression is answered with the sort of musical force that only metal can deliver.

For you, "Tronald" may be just that kind of soundtrack. No stress if you are already at peak-Trump, peak-knee or whatever outrage is happening at the second. The Manchester, UK namesake do not come across as an expressly political collective. Tronaldis, however, well suited to deliver an assertive and uncompromisingly heavy recording. Just as exciting, the listener gets treated to an inventive group with a fiery first outing in its new self-titled release.

What makes Tronald so engaging to catch is the diversity of its approach. Ticking in at just under 20 minutes, the eight tracks on "Tronald" are one of the more interesting collections you will hear this fall. From practicing a chorus to the previously mentioned Trump snippets, Tronald mixes in its doom and sludge-heavy style a healthy dose of experimentation. Whether it is a hardcore/thrash chord or two in "Vegan Gains" or grinding pace of "Bennel,"you hear a band that is crafting what it may eventually be in the future. Right now, Tronald does many things quite well, at least in small spurts – more than half the cuts are less than two minutes. Long enough to be intriguing, but short enough to make you wonder what comes next.

On "Obelisk," Tronald's longest song, you get perhaps a better sense of what the quintet is capable of. The doom track creates a humid scene around it, one that combines distorted guitars, chugging bass and flicks of vocal melody trapped under a crushing boulder of decomposing blackened death metal. You get the picture. It is raw and piercing in a fashion you cannot reasonably expect on a debut. But there it is, moldering for your delight.

Discerning fans will count several influences, and Tronald does not break particularly new ground just yet. However, the band gets off to a rousing start. And one has to feel optimistic about its future.

"Tronald" is available here:

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Lovely Wife - "Problem Rock" [EP]

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 06/08/2017

Label: Cruel Nature Records

Taken in together, you have a smoothed out jam band-esque stoner rock experience, and it is a good one.

"Problem Rock" CS//DD track listing

1. Export To Disk

2. Filth

3. Ting

The Review:

Beguiling, as it is perplexing, Lovely Wife drop a new three-song EP for your listening pleasure. And it is a really nice one, but it is not without a few questions.

This is the follow up to the group's three-song debut EP, "Lou Reed is Dead." That package was mostly a post-rock affair that clocked in at just under half an hour. It flew under the radar for many, but came across as promising.

The new release features virtually a complete change in band members and another trio of psychedelic infused heavy rock. It feels a bit unpolished and even rough at points, though it is likely a production touch. Taken in together, you have a smoothed out jam band-esque stoner rock experience, and it is a good one.

Lovely Wife's challenge is finding that right mix of personnel. It is a difficulty faced by a ton of new groups: you think you have the right mix of people until it isn't, and even when you do, musical chemistry takes time.

Although the lineup is about wholly different from its debut, even "Problem Rock" has rotating members throughout the record. Joe Garrick is the only consistent player here. The sprawling, 13-minute centerpiece "Export to Disk" features Garrick with drummer Rob Woodcock (who returns from his appearance on the title track of "Lou Reed is Dead") and guitarist Jon O'Neill. On the other two tracks, the lineups flip completely, with Garrick joining vocalist James Watts and drummer Skylar Gill.

With Garrick presumably the leader of the band, you have a talented bassist. "Problem Rock" makes his skill evident. Still, you might be inclined to wonder how much Lovely Wifewill get even better as it matures, nails its core membership and grows into tighter material.

"Problem Rock”is available here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp