Divas come in all shapes and sizes.
I went to a gig the other week. Mine was in the middle room of the three at the venue. The bigger one was housing one of those metal bands that loves to tell you they are defenders of the faith and all that sort of thing. Leather, shields, codpieces, all the rest of it.
People had paid nearly £100 to see them.
When I go to that venue I have to sit on the disabled balcony or else I can’t see. As I was coming down in the lift, I was chatting to one of the stewards who told me that the gig had been a “nightmare” because no one who would normally be in the disabled section could see a thing.
“Why was the balcony shut then?” I asked.
The reply that came back was this: “because the singer wouldn’t be looked over…….”
And on the other side of the equation, the red corner to the blue corner of the band who shall remain nameless (ok, it was Manowar…..) if you like is Asomvel.
No frills. No bullshit and resolutely no fucks given.
Defenders of nothing except the can of lager they’re drinking, and the dirtiest, the fastest, the most furious, rock n roll anywhere, “World Shaker” absolutely slays.
11 songs with very little light and shade but with a desperate desire for volume, speed, and whatever trouble they can find, the title track doesn’t so much announce its arrival as thunder in with a convey of Harley’s and salt the earth before it leaves.
It is a glorious racket, and if Asomvel moved in next door, then you’d have two choices. Embrace it. Or move.
“True Believer” which has more rock n roll coursing through its veins in 2 minutes 31 seconds than however long Manowar bored the bollocks off everyone the other Friday (which wasn’t long, either given that by the time Monster Truck had done, the hoards had gone home), while “Paybacks A Bitch” does have a bit more of a bluesy groove. “Sounds a bit like Gentlemen’s Pistols” I thought to myself when it first came on. Asomvel have GP singer James Atkinson twiddling the knobs here, so that might explain that.
Now, the elephant in the room here is the thing sounds like a Motorhead record. But equally let’s assume two things. 1) Asomvel know this and wouldn’t consider it as an insult 2) Motorhead were one of the greatest rock n roll bands ever, so great rock n roll kinda should sound like them, no?
“Running the Gauntlet” is built around some slashing lead from Lenny Robinson – and the founder member is fine form throughout – “Reap The Whirlwind” likes the idea of this so much it essentially does it again, only with a little blunt force trauma, but if you are looking for something a more mellifluous then I give you “The Law Is The Law” , but then it does start with the line “you can die in an inch of water…..” so it’s not exactly pop music.
Some of the lyrics that Ralph Robinson (who took over after the tragic death of his uncle Jay-Jay Winter) spits out are phenomenal. “You’re not yourself when you’re hungry” is possibly the only recorded use of the Snickers advert slogan in a metal song, but its on “Steamroller” so get on board.
“Every Dog Has It’s Day” gets solo at the start bonus points, and there’s tinges of early NWOBHM here, “Railroaded” has a prime Lemmy bass line at its heart, and if neither “Smokescreen” or “The Nightmare Ain’t Over” stray too far from the formula, then they are still ace – and the latter has some top notch thrash drumming from Jani Pasanen.
“World Shaker” is 36 minutes of filth and fury. And that’s just fine with me. They’re Asomvel, and they play rock n roll. You hear that, naysayers, fakers and prima donnas?
Rating 9/10
