ALBUM REVIEW: Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell - "Keep It Greasy"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 14/10/2016
Label: Rise Above Records

“All in all, a great showing for these rockers- it does exactly as the album title promises.”

“Keep It Greasy” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). U Got Wot I Need
2). Hairy Brain Pt. 2
3). Hawkline Monkster
4). Paid in Full
5). I'm Movin'
6). Potato Boy
7). Tired'n'wired
8). Wrong

The Review:

Straight outta Hastings, the excellently (and locally) monikered Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel bring the old school rock n roll once again with this collection of eight tracks melding 70's tunesmithery with more psychedlic influences- as evidenced by many song lengths running well over the six minute mark. Opener “U Got Wot I Need” sets the raucous tone, while “Hairy Brain Part 2” opens the sound up to more expansive sounds via dynamics aplenty and tempo shifts.

The album continues along this line with out and out rocker followed by more expansive and expressive fair, guaranteeing that the record flows nicely and each track is distinguishable from the next. “Paid in Full” is a slow and bluesy workout with some nice audible bass work and a uniquely British sensibility. The interludes at the end of tracks/at the start of tracks are something you will have to hear for yourself and make up your mind about. Do they add anything? You decide.

Certainly, once “I'm Movin” gets going it is like The Who jamming with Leafhound. The best title award (for this or possibly any other album) goes to “Potato Boy” which is a rocker, but at a lower tempo, centred around a Hendrixy type of riff and low slung drumming. Great stuff. “Tired ‘n’ Wired” is a real foot stomper, slapping you around the face before the closing statement of “Wrong” brings the noise and dirt.

All in all, a great showing for these rockers- it does exactly as the album title promises.

“Keep It Greasy” is available here

Band info: facebook

FFO: Sir Lord Baltimore, Budgie, Witchcraft, Danava 

Live Review: NOIZ All Dayer, Rebellion Bar, Manchester, 2/4/2016

By: Dominic Walsh

Boasting one of the best heavy metal bills in Manchester in a long time, NOIZ promotions’ NOIZ All Dayer in Manchester seemed almost untrue with the amount of talent on show.

Drone duo, Khost, opened up the day with a massively heavy amount of tone and drone for the small crowd. It was only 12.30 when they took the stage so people were still filing in through the doors, although there were a couple of people who had made the effort to see Khost based on their attire.

From here on in, the bill changed shape with bands moving up and down the bill continually. Presumably this was due to people arriving/being delayed etc.

One band that did take the stage at their scheduled time was PIST. Now, for those who haven’t heard PIST, the clue is in the name. 1pm was a remarkably early time for the Bury quartet to hit the stage, however their groove laden angsty southern sludge did more than wake the gathered masses, and blow any Friday night cobwebs away.

As the afternoon progressed, Fvnerals and Dystopian Future Movies (both late additions to the bill due to cancelled gigs in the area) serenaded the crowd with dark post rock and doom laden riffs that slowed the pace somewhat during the afternoon. The slower pace did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd. Both bands have been touring together; if you’re a fan of Neurosis, Bossk, Long Distance Calling (or bands to that effect), give them a whirl.

Either side of Fvnerals and DFM, there were arguably some of the star turns of the day. Another local band who are making plenty of waves in the metal world, Boss Keloid, were in celebratory mood with a storming set which showed how much the band have evolved. They are much tighter as a band, and the material from their new LP ‘Herb Your Enthusiasm,’ sounded incredibly strong. To bring the pace down again slightly, were Witchsorrow. Although they’re a doom band, their latest LP, ‘No Light, Only Fire,’ has plenty of more up tempo selections. A mix of these tracks and cuts from “God Curse Us” helped them deliver a great set.

Towards the top of the bill was heavy rock trio The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, who did not disappoint. Complete no frills rock and roll just the way it should be. Steak ably assisted with their fuzzy stoner rock keeping the pace up as the crowd got steadily more lubricated.

One of the absolute star turns of the day however, took place early in the afternoon. London’s Vodun turned many heads in Rebellion. The trio, who have just released their debut LP “Possession”, took to the stage in their ‘tribal’ attire and delivered a scintillating performance. Chantal Brown’s vocals can easily draw comparisons with Skunk Anansie’s Skin, and the riffs swerve from thrash, to stoner, to doom. Over the course of their short set, Vodun proved why they are getting many great reviews of “Possession”. Another afternoon success came in the form of their tour mates, Limb. Showcasing some prime cuts from 2015’s “Terminal”, the band delivered a stomping set against a hazy white light back drop; foggy and fuzzy on many levels! “Down By The Banks” is a monster of a track; Limb deserve to be edging themselves up bills. They have the songs and presence to be huge.

The day ended with Israeli sludge mob Dukatalon playing host to a fully liquored audience. Their stomping set ended with a huge stage invasion capping off an excellent day of heavy metal. The amount of bands on the bill only scratches the surface of the amount of great bands out there. NOIZ are behind many of Manchester’s all day metal events – if you are even the slightest it curious, go along and check out some of the bands; it’s almost a dead cert you’ll find something you enjoy.

You can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/noizpromo/

The Sludgelord Song Premiere - "Both Barrells" by Gorilla

By: Aaron Pickford

Gorilla vs Grifter is the second in a planned series of split albums released through awesome Birmingham based label HeviSike, following 2015's Mos Generator // Stubb split release. 

The two English powerhouses join the Birmingham-based imprint at an exciting time following the label's launch in late 2014. Having followed and supported this independent label since its inception, we have reviewed Chicago psychedelic rockers Dead Feathers and albums from Elevators to The Grateful Sky, Prophets of Saturn in that short space of time, indeed they have slowly carved their own unique niche as a standalone boutique vinyl only label.  Therefore it was without equivocation when Jay from Hevisike asked if we’d like to host a stream for Gorilla’s track “Both Barrells” from this forthcoming release.  So check it out below and let us know what you think

Gorilla are no strangers to fans of heavy-as-hell rock n’ roll. The no-nonsense power trio, led by The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell frontman Johnny Gorilla, have released three albums since forming in the late 1990s.  Gorilla vs Grifter  will be available as a limited edition vinyl record in two colours and pre-orders start from Friday 1st April ahead of its 15th April release date.

Colour vinyl options:

Gold - (limited to 100 copies, hevisike.com exclusive)
Yellow / Blue Marbled 

Band info: facebookGorillaRockin || facebookGRIFTERROCK

“Big Riffs, Heavy Tones” - NOIZ All-Dayer Preview April 2nd 2016 @ Rebellion, Manchester, UK

By: Phil Weller

In Manchester, UK you will struggle to find a bigger champion of big riffs and heavy tones, of tidal sludge and dead-mongering doom as NOIZ promotion’s founder Eytan. And on April 2^nd NOIZ Promotions takeover Rebellion to do just that; a venue that both physically and metaphorically stands up against the bullshit of the mainstream to wrap low down and dirty music under its ever-expanding wings. Situated on Deansgate, it stares across the road at a fleet of trendy cocktail bars, where egos, tracksuit bottoms, Nike Airs, fake tans and plastic drumbeats have full sway. It snarls at those places; a warm and welcome abode for the ‘outsiders’ who like their music a little more abrasive, a little less fabricated.

The bill is littered with names lauded frivolously on the hallowed pages of The Sludgelord – (Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, Steak, Witchsorrow, Boss Keloid and more) – just looking at the poster is enough for any self-respecting Sludgelordian to pitch a gazebo in their trousers. 

Eytan’s battle plan then, is a simple one: “I enjoy putting bands on that don't come to the city often and putting my favourite local bands with them. I started NOIZ just under a year ago and hosted a few different kinds of event. So far booked around 50 bands.”

The inclusion of the rough, raw and ready old school rock n’ roll of the Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, is the cherry on the top for him, he reveals: “I've managed to miss them each and every time I've wanted/attempted to see them, so as per with NOIZ, it was a selfish booking and one that I knew would enhance the lineup I was fleshing out. I think they'll bring a definite close to the event, no doubt it'll be messy down at the front and I think their raw vibe will be a perfect finale.

With the festival pulling in some shiny names from across the country, with Eytan saying desert rock fans would “be foolish to miss Steak”, it creates a foundation to flaunt the local talent: “All I can say about the locals is that you should go check them out right now, and a shout out to all of my mates who make up those bands.”

But who are those local acts?

Boss Keloid

“Keloid are extremely difficult to define. At some points there's a meditative Om/Tool kind of quality, and then it goes... BROWN. The vocal performance on the new record is probably my joint-first favourite of any record I know from this area.”

Says Keloid bassist/brown bringer Adam Swarbrick: “It'll be our first show in quite a while, or at least what seems quite a while. It's been a very busy time for us, and we've had a few things to deal with in the time since our last show. So you can imagine, we're extremely hungry to launch a full scale herbal assault at NOIZ. I'm confident in speaking for all of us when I say we absolutely live for the live show. So having had more time away from the stage than we'd ideally have liked, NOIZ is a big event for us.”

Barbarian Hermit

“T'Hermit are an outstanding band that just seems to improve with every performance. I had them on at the MMC Weekender a month ago and they were many people's band of the weekend.”

PIST

“PIST probably need no introduction from your readership. A warning would be polite if they do. In short, PIST don't party, they are party. Sonically, that is exactly what you get, but don't mistake that for 'silly', or 'novelty' - they are a pure, balls-to-wall metal band with a stoned groove and a drunken swagger.”

A band that usually top bills of this nature, this time around they’ll be treating us to a bright and early set, helping opening the event: “They do usually top the bills at larger events at Rebellion, they headlined the MMC Weekender to a packed house and it went crazy in there with stage diving and crowd-surfing. They're on early simply because they were added late on, but it does give me a very strong (and contrasting) opening pair.”

Almost definitely in the depths of some whirling drug binge, Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell sticksman Johnny Gorillar adds: “The Shovell love playin’ Manc; lovely people, good pubs and great audiences. Always a chore, never a pleasure - hold on - scratch that and reverse it!” A band who live and breath what rock n’ roll used to be – and refuse to accept and act like owt has changed, such is their charm – he continues: “we're going onto the studio the week before this gig, there's a few new 'uns in the set already, and at Roadburn we'll be previewing most if not ALL the new LP live. That way punters can record it and that will save Rise Above having to actually release the furker!” 

And with that, we anxiously cross the passing days of on our calendars and continue to prepare our livers for a heavy one and say our final goodbyes to our dignity. This event highlights the natural evolution of a promotions company with bigger plans yet still peaking over the horizon, as Eytan flirts with hints during our conversation.

“No doubt it's bigger [than previous NOIZ events], just look at the line-up! Also, we've had a great run of successful events in a short time, with mostly the same crew doing each event, a familiarity of sorts is setting in, and in a place with such a healthy and active community. That translates into word spreading like wildfire,” he explains.

“Like I said, I've so far booked around 50 bands as NOIZ and have three bands on the bookings roster: Boss Keloid, Dukatalon (UK only) and one TBA very soon. Also look out for the new label out of NOIZ Towers coming this year!

“Shout out to all the bands who are playing, all the bands who have played, all our crew, the supporters, everyone at Rebellion and Adam Swarbrick/Swarbuckle/SwarBROWN of Boss Keloid, and organiser of Riff Fest - look out for a VERY exciting NOIZ/Riff Fest collaboration early summer!”



Info:  facebook

Face-to-Face Interview with The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell

The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell are one of the rising stars of the UK Hard Rock Scene. Signed to Rise Above Records they have just released their excellent 2^nd album - Check 'em Before You Wreck 'em – which is an insane blast of great hard rocking riffs.

They released their début album - Don't Hear It... Fear It! - to critical acclaim back in 2012. These guys have a wicked sense of humour but they know how to write a great tune steeped in 70's Classic Hard Rock territory.

The band have just finished supporting Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats on their recent UK tour and I was given the chance to speak to the guys face-to-face at Glasgow Garage 2 on Wednesday 23^rd April 2014. And this is what went down with The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell.

SL – Hi guys. Thanks for doing this interview. How did the first date of the tour go in Birmingham last night.

Yeah. It was a mixed bag. Sound wasn't tremendously good to us. I think that every band struggles with their sound at the moment.

SL – Was that at Asylum or O2 Academy

It was at O2 Academy. Yeah. Strange place to play as the sound was pretty shit up front as well. I must admit it was really very boomy, slappy and horrible. The audience were non-reactive but at the end we done a good show. It was a mixed night. We had a good night afterwards.

Hopefully tonight will be a lot better and I think it will be a belter. As we supported Orange Goblin at Kings Tut and that was amazing. And it sold out as a result of us supporting them.

SL – You have just released your new album last week. Which we will be reviewing soon.

Yeah. Just been released. You heard it.

SL – Yeah I have. It's a great album and very different to the first album.

Thanks. You have to listen to it a few times as it's not as immediate as the début album. The first album no-one was meant to heat it. That was the instruction. People have to listen to the new album more than once to get the feel of it. We are really pleased with the new album as the sound on this one beats the first record hands down.

First one sounds good but nowhere near as good as this. As it's got a warmer sound. It sounds like a record we would choose to listen to. We used a different studio as we weren't comfortable wit the studio where we recorded the first album. It was in Wales and it's a long fucking drive.

We recorded the album in 3 days. If you listen to Sabbath's first couple of albums they did it all in 2 days and belted it out. They were obviously a touring and recording band. We don't have that luxury but at the same time we just thought – FUCK IT!!!. That's what you're supposed to do.

I think the 70s and the excess of having the opportunity to fart for half a day and playing the Kazoo for the whole afternoon. I think it ruins the whole vibe a bit. Just fucking get on with it. Knock it out and mix it as well as you can.

SL – You're signed to Rise Above Records. How did that came about.

We just hassled Lee. We said - “If you don't sign us then you're a fucking cunt.”. - I sent him an email saying if you don't sign us then you're missing a trick as we are into the the same shit you're into.

SL – What's the song-writing process in the band. Is it a group process or is it down to one individual.

John tens to do most of the lyrics and we and as a band come up with a few riffs and piece it together in the rehearsal room. We don't know what we are doing. We point at the microphone and look at the lights. It's probably a lot more technical than that.

The engineer is probably thinking - “What the fuck is this!!!”

But we don't care. It's sounds good. It's heavy rock. It's not Michael Buble. That's why we are playing bottom of the bill with Uncle Acid in a 300 capacity venue. And Michael Buble is at the O2 Arena eating caviar burgers and having it off with 5 women at the same time.

SL – Did you feel under pressure when making the new album.

No. We had a bunch of songs and put another bunch of songs together. And we thought 10 songs put them all together and that is the album. We didn't feel any pressure as we found a studio that was local to where we live about 6 or 7 miles down the road.

We were wondering where to go and I googled - “Old Fashioned Analogue Studio near Hastings” - I spotted one and was thinking what's that. It's been there 20 odd years and I didn't know it existed. Went down there to check it out. Owner was pretty friendly and he said yeah I can do that. Nice bloke and he was the same age as us. He turned out top. We highly recommend – BroadOak Studios. If you need an album or anything else recorded then go down there. Great place.

SL – Have you got any more tours lined up in the year.

We got nothing in the pipeline. We have got a couple of stray gig here and there. Leeds in October. We might be going to Spain for a couple of headlining shows. Going to Portugal with Kadavar as their mains support for a few days.

Plus we have the Freak Valley Festival in Germany as well. Though we are happy to do more gigs as we are very cheap.

SL – How would you describe your sound. Hard Rock, Rock and Roll or Proto Metal.

Hard Rock. Definitely. Hard Rock as we listen to a lot of classic US Hard Rock Bands. But we also dig Quo, Slade and their classic hard rock sound.

SL – Where did the name came from and why that choice.

Basically we were coming home from the pub one night and near where Johnny used to live, there is this old beam house in Hastings Old Town. It's got a big plaque outside saying - “This is where Sir Admiral Cloudesley Shovell mother used to live.”

He didn't live there but his mother did. He lived in Rochester. We thought. HA – The Sir Admiral Cloudesley Shovell. Lets call ourselves Cloudseley Shovell as that's a great name. But we said – FUCK IT. Lets go the whole hog.

Since then we were asked what's the name of your band and people are expecting – THE FUCKS or THE CUNTS. You tell them the name and they look at each other and go - “OH!!!”.

Then you know why no-one is going to find your album as they are spelling it wrong or try googling it.

SL – Well guys thanks to talking to us here at Sludgelord. All the best with the show. Really looking forward to it.

Cheers.

After that I saw The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell play a blistering set to a truly appreciative Glasgow audience.

I want to thank Aaron Pickford, Rise Above and The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell for arranging this interview.

Check 'em Before You Wreck 'em is now available to buy from all good stockists now on Rise Above Records.

Check the band from links below

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Written by Steve Howe