Heavy Roller – Heavy Roller (LP)

I’ve always had a soft spot for Australian hard rock ever since I heard Stevie Wright’s “Evie” back in 1974. Soon enough AC/DC popped up and on it went with bands like Rabbitt, Taste and later on excellent bands like Tracer, Electric Mary, Wolfmother and Twenty Two Hundred. Add Heavy Roller to this lot. A new four-piece from downunder that rocks big time! The band’s self-released debut kicks off with “Heavy Roller” in a powerful mid-tempo vein, followed by no frills up-tempo heavy rock ‘n roller “Jug”, that will give fellow-Aussies Airbourne a run for their money. The band consists of Luke Earthling on guitar, Cam Roach behind the drums, Dwain du Plessis on vocals and guitar and Gater Springate on bass and backing vocals. “Barfly” kicks the album into AC/DC style gear and you can almost feel the beer start flowing. “Getting’ By” is a super groovy, bluesy rocker with cool funky guitar work and Dwain’s gritty vocals on top. Love it! Side A closes with the stomping bluesy rocker “The Raven” with harmonica on top. On to side B and we head straight into the heavy rocking “Undead World”. A cool guitar chugging number at a medium pace (as Adam Sandler so eloquently put it). “Scavengers Delight” continues in a mid-tempo, but still pretty intense vibe and in the chorus, they do rock it out. It made me think of what The Hellacopters would’ve sounded like if they were an Australian band. “Deceiver” again gets the riff machine moving, with an almost punkish intensity. “Demon In Me” brings it back down quite a bit to a very smooth, but still kinda Iggy Pop-style number, which of course breaks out into full mayhem in the chorus. A great driving rocker! Side B finishes at full throttle with up-tempo party rocker “Burning Dollars”. All in all, a really solid debut from these Aussie rockers. Already looking forward to their next release!

Year: 2021

Country: Australia

Label: Thong Knife

Link: https://heavyrollerrock.bandcamp.com/album/heavy-roller

Black Aces – Anywhere But Here (CD)

When I listen to the Black Aces album I can’t help wondering how many times you can re-cycle the formula created by AC/DC. We already have hundreds, if not thousands, of bands that have used, misused, developed, re-vamped and copied what the Aussies once created. There’s your Airbourne, ’77, Bullet, Rhino Bucket, Rose Tattoo, Bonafide, Dynamite, Upper Crust etc etc. So, what new ingredients have fellow Australians Black Aces brought to the brew? Well, I can’t really find any to be honest. The singer is trying to put his spin on the Bon Scott era high-pitch vocals and the music has also taken on the late 70s AC/DC sound and style of song writing, even the backing vocals have the same rough football choir vibe as AC/DC had once they started adding this to their brew. At least some of the bands, such as Bonafide, put a new spin on the old coin and make it into a beast of their own, but unfortunately this is just blue print material, except maybe for the track “Short Changed” which has at least a slightly personal touch to it. If you’re a fan of AC/DC and have no problem with copy cats, this one’s definitely for you. The band does a great job doing what they do. The musicians are great, the sound kicks ass and the singer does a great job, so this is by no means a bad album in that sense. It’s just, a bit too unoriginal for me. If they had just dared to take a little step or two outside the box, that would have done a great deal.

Janne Stark

Label: Off Yer Rocka

Country: Australia

Year: 2017

Dellacoma - South of Everything ( CD)

Australia has a way of delivering high quality bands one after another: Electric Mary, Tonk, Airbourne, Tracer, Toehider etc etc. Add Dellacoma to the list. This bunch I'd add to the same category as fellows Tonk and Electric Mary. Good time, melodic, energetic and edgy hard rock with great riffs and ballsy vocals. The album kicks off with the highly infectious Moving On To Something New which actually made me think of early Enuff Z'nuff. Walk The Plank continues in a similar almost early Crüe oriented vein, while Lessons Learned offers some chunky Aerosmith:ish funky riffing. The album is however not all party party party, which shows in heavy, almost doomy Time Falls Away. Change kicks off a bit reminiscent of Buckcherry, but actually better in my opinion. Good time rock n roll! Fjh (Get Me Out) continues in the same vein while Fameslavesgold offers some nice southern rock oriented riffing gone AC/DC. Killer track! A really good debut album indeed. Not at par with Electric Mary (not many are in my book) but clearly placing themselves in the upper mid-region.  The opening track promises a lot, but is never really challenged when it comes to hooks and catchiness. Interesting to see what the follow-up may offer.

Janne Stark

Country: Australia

Year: 2016

Label: private

TWENTY TWO HUNDRED - Carnaval De Vénus (CD)

Twenty Two Hundred
Carnaval De Vénus
Tonequake Records

It's not often these days that an album hits me so hard it gets stuck in my CD player. It does happen now and then, but not like in the "old days". When the debut album by Australian band Twenty Two Hundred started spinning in the player, my listening experience was initiated by the track 7X Down, with its killer heavy riff, raw-edge bass and Tony Cardenas-Montana's rough bluesy voice. Just like fellow-Australians, Tracer, they also produced an outstanding groove making it impossible to sit still. Next track, Got It Bad, started with a gnarly, distorted, wah-wah tinged walking bass, soon accompanied by some swing drums, resting on Tony's almost jazzy added vocals, to just break loose in a crushingly heavy chorus with the whole band. Another track, with a riff that smashes everything in its way, the riff I wish I'd written, and probably Leslie West, too if he hears it, is Hitman. Here, Mark Wells delivers a guitar solo with the wah-wah at large, which fills its perfect role in the song. Stone Cold starts with a treacherous calm with some funky bass, slick drums and Tony's awesome cool voice. This song also delivers a sledgehammer chorus and a killer guitar solo. Also subsequent track, The Sun, rests on a cool funky groove in the verse, while the chorus again crushes! This is one of the things I love with this band, their feeling for nuances, to keep one part down while crushing in the next. Create some tension, like waiting for the Christmas presents. Guitarist/bassist Mark Wells has also produced the album, and I must say he has done an awesome job. He has created the same type of feel Kevin Shirley has done, especially with Tracer. Very dynamic, analogue and at the same time fat but atmospheric. That he lights up the guitars, like in the aforementioned tracks and Shot Down, lets the drums, bass and vocals handle the verse, and then let the brutal guitar loose in the chorus. I love that! I also love the band's cool mix of seventies hard rock, funky heavy rock and a big dose of groovy southern rocking blues. Outstanding groove and the band sound incredibly tight, like if they had been doing pre-production for months to feel each other off as musicians, alternatively played a hundred gigs together. Whatever, Twenty Two Hundred's album has been spinning frantically ever since I received it, and so has their first EP, and they will keep on. One of the best surprises of the year so far, and definitely a favourite! 
Janne Stark
Label: Tonequake Records
Country: Australia
Year: 2013