PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS
Kings Of The Asylum (Nuclear Blast)
Phil Campbell, Pontypridd boy and onetime guitarist of Motörhead (and, before that, Cardiff metallers Persian Risk), returns: his band have retained their radio-unfriendly name, but introduce a new vocalist and deliver another album packed with hard rock’n’roll.
Kings Of The Asylum opens with the (head)banging track Walking In Circles, and doesn’t stop to catch its breath until the last note. Joel Peters has slipped seamlessly into the lineup and his voice has enough grit without straying into death metal territory. The sons are a tight musical unit, Todd Campbell providing solid guitar solos throughout and Dane Campbell relentless behind the drum kit.
Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons’ songs are typically angsty we-hate-the-rich-let’s-kill-everyone-who-slights-us, topic-wise, but who cares when there are riffs galore and a pumping beat – metal was never about the words anyway. The album ends with Maniac, which has the sweariest lyrics and a tune that pays homage to the Sex Pistols and the spirit of punk.
words LYNDA NASH