Osmium Guillotine - 'Osmium Guillotine' Album

‘Osmium Guillotine’ is the self-titled, debut album from Essex four piece, Osmium Guillotine. The album has been out since June, but we are now happy to have our hands on it!

 

The band play a concoction of 80's heavy metal with a touch of classic rock and a little 70's punk thrown in for good measure. Oh, and a ton of doom, anger and a few pints of ale (more about that later).

 

That theme of anger runs through the entire album with a constant narrative of situations being troublesome. 'City of Chaos', which we’ll be featuring on Shell’s next show due out this Tuesday 20^th January, is the sixth track of the album and sums up this feeling pretty well. The song is about the London riots of a couple of years ago, and sums up the mood of the album, that things have gone to the dogs and that we're living in fear and under the control of emotionless, heartless organisations.

 

'Hobgoblin' is track seven and it's here we're introduced to the ale, with this track being an homage to one of my personal favourite ales, Wychwood's Hobgoblin. This is a seriously good tune, to go with a seriously good beer. As the song suggests, if you're used to your lager, you're going to be in for a taste experience with this!

 

This leads in to my personal favourite track, 'Goomba'. An unusual name for a track, I’ll admit. This is a great anthem, with a thumping rhythm that runs through after ripping in from a fairly subtle and subdued intro. The lyrics retain the passionate feeling of anger, helplessness and being lost in this modern, depressing world. By the way, the ending to this song is incredible. I'm listening to this at my laptop, with my headphones in, properly going for the air guitar. Cue very odd looks from my flatmate...

 

Speaking of unusual track names, let’s talk about 'Phobophobia'. 'Phobophobia' is the fear of being afraid, something which is helpfully explained in the song. I don't just mention this track for its name though, the song bursts into life after a smooth intro with its powerful instrumentals set against snappy, catchy lyrics.

 

The album closes with 'Subhuman', which like the previous tracks is packed with deep, heavy riffs, hard drums and sharply delivered vocals. About half way through the song, the drums ramp up and lead into an awesome guitar solo, which again had me smiling. The track is a perfect and fitting end to this brilliantly dark album.

 

Osmium Guillotine's debut album is simply fantastic, with big riffs and memorable, passionate lyrics. I'm looking forward to lots more from them on their new label, Roxeavy Music over the next few years. As a side note to the music, if you do get hold of this album, seriously check out the artwork on the cover, there's a flaming guillotine for goodness sake!!

 

If you want to find out more about the band, head over to www.osmiumguillotine.com where you can also find the album, so you can have a listen yourself!

 

Remember to visit www.theampsession.co.uk for more new, unsigned acts, tune in to our latest show or catch up on anything you’ve missed!

Octavians - "Artless" EP

Happy New Year everyone! Today I'm going to be having a listen to “Artless”, the new EP from Cardiff boys, Octavians.

 

The guys have a signature alt - rock sound and this five track EP stays true to those roots and throws in elements of indie too, before it all got a bit too tight jeaned, floppy haired and conceptual...

 

“Artless” really demonstrates Octavians impressive range and variety, there are different elements in each song from the choral beginning of “Every Success” to the cracking solo towards the end of “Joie de Vivre” whilst stopping off at the more understated and wistful title track “Artless”.

 

We start with “Every Success” and, as I mentioned, its wonderful intro, which sets the tone for what is to follow. This track has a sense of coming to terms with not actually having all the answers. As if everything that you once had all planned out has just gone a bit wrong. I can relate to that, and I'm sure a lot of you can also. We've all had those times when the plans we've made for ourselves just completely unravel in our hands. For me it feels like the quarter life crisis (it's a thing) and those well laid plans of what I'd be doing once I'd finished uni not quite working out as well as I'd expected.

 

“Sometimes I Think, Sometimes I Don't” (A phrase that seems to sum up my life...) follows and is the main single from the EP. In fact, we featured it on The Amp Session a few shows back (that's my subtle hint to tell you to go listen again). This may be my favourite song on the EP, its lyrics cutting and memorable, lingering in your head after the song finishes and by the way, what a finish. The instrumental at the end is fantastic and I'm a big fan of the abrupt ending with no fading out.

 

The third track “Friction into Motion” continues this, Sam Baker's vocals in tandem with the brilliantly intricate lyrics. Here I can draw a comparison to Ed Sheeran, in terms of the speed and nature of the delivery; quick, on point and flow perfectly in time. The song itself follows the same successful pattern as those which came before, with strong, meaningful lyrics married up with catchy beats and another great instrumental to round the song off.

 

Title track “Artless” starts out differently, in a much more muted and understated way. The lyrics have a maturity and an almost melancholic feeling to them. This idea of not knowing how to feel what you want. For me this track is right up there with “Sometimes I Think, Sometimes I Don't” as being the best on the EP. It shows a different side to Octavians, a darker quality. The fact that it's been playing on repeat in my head kinda tells you how good it is.

 

The EP closes with “Joie de Vivre”, which loops back to the upbeat riffs and beats from the previous tracks. The lyrics are cutting and sharply delivered and continue the raw feeling of angst and frustration. The song is a fantastic close to this great EP, combining everything that Octavians have done so well; huge riffs, powerful instrumentals and meaningful vocals.

 

Quite simply, this EP is excellent. I mean, to review something you have to listen through a few times anyway, but with "Artless", it was a pleasure to play each song over and over, in fact I still am! You need to check this out by heading to iTunes and picking this up. However, be careful not to accidently download stuff from a German band of the same name, they're... erm... different.

 

To find out more about Octavians, head over to their website www.octavians.co.uk or checking out their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/weareoctavians

 

Of course, remember also to check out www.theampsession.co.uk to keep up to date with all the latest in new, unsigned music.

- Chris

 

The Unmentionables at Roadtrip & The Workshop

Firstly, I must point out that Roadtrip & The Workshop is one of the coolest venues we’ve had the pleasure of being invited along to. With a plethora of neon lighting and music-inspired decoration, it definitely works as a suitable host for some of the best upcoming bands in the business. I’d also like to take a moment to draw your attention to the decoration in the toilets. It’s not very often in a live music review I spend time talking about the facilities, but I seriously recommend you give them a visit and cast your eyes upon the walls. Whether you’re a “Sid” or “Nancy”, you’ll certainly enjoy the view. Thank me later.

But I digress, onto the music. The Workshop is the bar’s downstairs live music venue, and we kick off the evening with a set from cheeky chappy Shaun O’Reilly. The double denim clad singer/songwriter draws his listeners in with a blend of acoustic and blues, his husky tones bringing some grit and authenticity to the songs he performs. A cover of Nick Drake’s ‘Smoking Too Much’ followed by his own ‘Crooked’, written about drinking too much, are both raw performances which manage to be full of emotion and powerful in equal measures.

Shaun’s anecdotes between songs allow him to connect to those sipping their beers and tapping their feet in front of him, to the point of shouting “One more song!” when he announces he’s finished. Holding the audience’s attention throughout, despite a few “technical” problems, Shaun’s simple set up brings us a strong and memorable performance.

The first noticeable thing about our next band, The Unmentionables, is that their bassist Ed Wilson is tall. Like, really tall. So tall, he can’t stand on the stage without hitting his head on the ceiling. As soon as they start, the energy in their performance is palpable. This is proper rock music. No pretentiousness here, just 4 lads with real riffs and catchy melodies. Sure, their subject matter sometimes drifts to love and heartbreak, but there is no soppiness and angst, just solid songs and a band who truly enjoy themselves onstage.

The infectious “Sailing Away” is the highlight of the set, with the audience joining in for the hook, “I’m sailing away!” and a short moment of silence before the applause, taking in the massively impressive set that has just been witnessed. Watching The Unmentionables in such a small setting, bouncing around the stage with limitless energy, I can’t help but imagine their tunes fitting in perfectly on a much larger scale. Give these guys a few years and expect to see them packing out arenas, a definite highlight of the evening.

The Derelics swagger onto stage next. Literally. There is an air of cockiness and smugness around frontman Reno, who looks like he was born to be a frontman of a rock band. The band is down to 2 out of 3 members tonight, and similarities in lineup are immediately drawn to The White Stripes. Oh, but The White Stripes, these guys are not. Reno holds the audience in his hands as he asks “Who has the funk?” whilst drummer Rich brings the sizzling beat and a great collection of facial expressions. Take that, Meg White. The songs drift from grunge to metal to classic rock, falsetto vocals dancing over the rhythm.

However, it does seem as though regular attendees of the gigs get more from The Derelics performance than those who are new to seeing them live, as a constant exchange of “in-jokes” between band and audience gets a little grating after a while.

The final band of the evening are in the form of 3-piece Lucine Bell. The tone here settles down to become much more sombre, embracing grunge as it was back in the 90s, a sense of mourning and darkness. Moving here from the stadium-filling energy of The Unmentionables brings a massive change in atmosphere, to the point where the suddenly self-conscious band don’t seem to be enjoying the performance themselves. The riffs are there, the chugging guitars are powerful, but unfortunately the stage presence and personality of the band members is somewhat lacking. In truth, this music is maybe better enjoyed at home as the lack of a real presence or personality really lets the band down.

For our merry Thursday night on the town, the performance of Lucine Bell as headliners is a bit of a let-down,  but fortunately The Unmentionables and Shaun O'Reilly's performances earlier in the evening certainly made the trip worthwhile. I'd highly recommend going and seeing them if you get the chance.