Guitarist George Lynch recently claimed the following about Ultraphonix and their debut release ‘Original Human Music’ “The album sounds like a fusion of early Chili Peppers meets King Crimson meets Judas Priest! It’s a super fun band”. Throwing such an eclectic mix of names into your press release definitely creates interest, which is sure to increase when you find that the ex Dokken guitarist has partnered with Living Colour vocalist Corey Glover for this project. Add in a rhythm section that consists of bassist Pancho Tomaselli (War/PHILM) and drummer Chris Moore (Cry Wolf/Damage/DeathRiders) and you've got the majority of the musical genres hinted at covered. If the rhythm section looks familiar then you probably own the 2016 album by Project NfidelikAh a band that featured Lynch, Tomaselli, Moore and Fishbone singer Angelo Moore.

George Lynch must surely be the hardest working guitarist in rock with a seemingly never ending touring and recording schedule. Recent work has included multiple releases under his own name, touring with Lynch Mob, occasional shows with Dokken (usually when the Japanese clamour/cheque for a reunion tour becomes too tempting) or in projects such as Sweet & Lynch with Stryper singer Robert Sweet or teaming up with Ray Luzier (Korn/David Lee Roth) and Kings X frontman Dug Pinnick in KXM. He was even recently linked with a spot in the latest incarnation of RATT but surprisingly couldn’t fit that one in. The common denominator between many of these situations is that Lynch seems to enjoy working with strong vocalists that have something to say lyrically so Corey Glover doesn’t come as a surprise. I loved Living Colour back in the day and have fond memories of an incendiary show on the ‘Vivid’ tour at London’s Marquee but by the time ‘Stain’ was released my interest had waned, so I was intrigued to see how Glover would fare after all these years.

I needn’t have worried. Time has been very kind to Glover who doesn’t seem to have lost a step vocally on album opener ‘Baptism’ while Lynch continues to be one of the most consistently interesting guitarists around delivering melody, technical performance and monstrous riffs in equal measure. Co-Produced by Bob Daspit (Sammy Hagar) the album sounds amazing, especially the drums, while the clarity of the mix gives all the band members room to breathe.

The most recent single from the album ‘Another Day’ is very melodic with Tomaselli laying down a really nice Chilli Peppers style groove in support of another fine Glover vocal. Lynch flamenco taps/noodles his way through the verses before laying down a strange but beautiful solo with that trademark ability to sound melodic, despite the vagaries of the time signature or the edginess his playing always seems to exhibit. This is in marked contrast to the first single ‘Walk Run Crawl’ which featured a much tougher, almost Nu-Metal sound with Moore and Tomaselli working overtime.

‘Free’ is a stunner, a heavy funk, psych workout with Glover sounding for all the world like he’s ready to “Start a revolution” while Lynch adds terrific, effects-driven, spacey guitar work to the mid-section. A definite album highlight. ‘Wasteland’ is a hugely melodic, distorted dirge of a track over which Lynch’s crashing guitar mutates and flits in and out of the soundstage while multiple vocal tracks form an unearthly choir in the background. Elsewhere the uber funky ‘Take A Stand’ is powered by a stunning Moore drum track aided and abetted by Tomaselli’s slapped bass and Lynch’s intricate guitar lines while 'Ain’t Too Late’ finds Glover in a dense, dirty stoner rock version of Living Colour. The back end of the album features a more user-friendly, but still very heavy, Living Colour influence before concluding with ‘Power Trip’ which initially sounds like an episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone before that riff and those drums kick in. Tomaselli’s takes the lead here and is about to steal the MVP prize before Glover at full throttle takes the gold.

Ultraphonix isn't a band for everyone. ‘Original Human Music’ is mind-numbingly heavy on occasion, super funky when required and finds all four band members on top form. Coupled with a superb production and mix this is a no-brainer for fans of George Lynch, Living Colour and those looking for something a little more interesting than standard generic fare.

'Original Human Music' is released August 3rd via earMUSIC

Buy on Amazon

Featured Album Reviews @RGM

Aug 1, 2023

Status Quo –Official Archive Series Vol.1 (Album Review)

Aug 1, 2023

Status Quo might not instantly spring to mind as an artist you would expect to embark on a series of archive releases, but if Vol.1 – Live In Amsterdam is any guide to the quality of this new undertaking, fans are in for a treat. The band has joined the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young in delving deep into the vaults to unearth, spruce up, and release a live show recorded on October 19th 2010, at the Heineken Hall in Amsterdam for a limited numbered edition CD and LP release. This makes perfect sense; Status Quo live, there are few better, so what more do you need to know?

Aug 1, 2023

Sep 29, 2022

Status Quo - Riffs 2CD Deluxe (Album Review)

Sep 29, 2022

In 2003 fresh from the success of ‘Heavy Traffic’, which found a rejuvenated Quo recovering somewhat from a run of uninspired releases, things were seemingly on an upward curve. So, what do they do? They release another covers album…honestly guys, really? There’s been a trend in recent years, which isn’t particularly welcome, of bands rerecording their own songs or putting out cover albums of their “favourite” songs (usually the same “favourite” songs of every other band on the planet). The Quo did both on one album!

Sep 29, 2022

Sep 26, 2022

Status Quo - Heavy Traffic 3CD Deluxe (Album Review)

Sep 26, 2022

I’ll always have a soft spot for Status Quo. Admittedly this is based on a hazy memory of a March 1981 show on the ‘Never Too Late tour. In those days, the Quo were a British institution as the classic line-up of Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster and Coghlan were revered by fans and could be relied upon for no-nonsense hard rock of the highest order. It wasn’t overly complicated, but they had the songs; it was loud, it was sweaty, and that was good enough for me. Unfortunately, my love of all things Quo was brief as post ’82 Quo were a mere shadow of their former selves and had a string of pretty terrible records to prove it.

Sep 26, 2022

Apr 6, 2022

Envy Of None - Envy Of None (Album Review)

Apr 6, 2022

As a founding member of legendary Canadian rockers Rush, Alex Lifeson sold millions of records and embarked on numerous world tours with bandmates Geddy Lee and Neil Peart. The trio played huge venues to a level of fan adoration that many of their contemporaries could only imagine. The only time I was lucky enough to catch the band was on their ‘Roll The Bones’ tour at London’s Wembley Arena. That night convinced me how special they could be, even if I wasn’t always totally convinced by their varied musical output. Rush played their last shows as a band in 2015, and with the sad passing of Neil Peart in 2020, the Rush story came to an understandable, albeit sad conclusion. This brings us to the question of what do you do when you have been there, done it and bought the t-shirt (and probably a very nice house)?

Apr 6, 2022

Mar 16, 2021

Creye - II (Album Review)

Mar 16, 2021

Originally formed by guitarist Andreas Gullstrand back in 2015 Swedish melodic rockers Creye are back with (I’m gonna take a wild guess here) their second album. Since the release of their well-received debut in 2018, the band have gained a new singer in August Rauer and spent the majority of 2019 on the road honing their sound. The result is an impressive release that marries muscle with melody harking back to the likes of fellow Swedes Europe and Bad Habit while adding more than a hint of pop nous. RGM featured Creye late last year in our popular Hard Place feature and we thought a proper look at their latest album was well overdue.

Mar 16, 2021

Feb 4, 2021

Downes Braide Association (DBA) - Halcyon Hymns (Album Review)

Feb 4, 2021

Downes Braide Association aka DBA originally started as a collaborative studio project in 2012 between Christopher Braide a Brit working in the USA writing and producing music for film scores, advertising campaigns and with a host of rock and pop artists (Sia, Lana Del Rey, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Paloma Faith, Britney Spears, Marc Almond) and keyboardist Geoffrey Downes of YES, Buggles and Asia fame. Eight years later and the duo had three albums under their belt while tentative forays into live performance in 2018 (resulting in a live record) and again in 2020 had proved successful. After the live shows in early 2020, Braide found himself in a bit of a funk when Marc Almond called and suggested he look at the possibility of a new DBA record to get the creative juices flowing. Braide delved into some musical ideas from Downes and inspiration struck immediately. Compositional ideas and snatches of melody quickly began to take shape and resulted is Halcyon Hymns, a record that perfectly captures feelings and memories of a time and a place when everything seemed so much simpler.

Feb 4, 2021

Jan 28, 2021

Mark Vennis & Different Place - Fighting On All Fronts (Album Review)

Jan 28, 2021

Mark Vennis is probably best known as a film producer with an impressive list of screen credits including the Maxine Peake comedy ‘Funny Cow’ (a Mark Kermode ‘Film Of The Week’ with music by Richard Hawley no less) and musical biographies of The Slits ‘Hear To Be Heard’ and Don Letts ‘Rebel Dread’. Away from what might be called his day job, Vennis has also released three records the latest of which ‘Fighting On All Fronts’ in late 2020 via Cadiz Music. A glance at the subjects featured in Vennis’ films will point the way to where he’s going musically but, as luck would have it, there’s rather more to ‘Fighting On All Fronts’ than initially meets the eye.

Jan 28, 2021

Dec 1, 2020

Cats In Space - Atlantis (Album Review)

Dec 1, 2020

UK rock sextet Cats In Space are back - in the biggest of ways - with their fourth studio album, Atlantis. Songwriter and guitarist Greg Hart promises that compared to previous outings, this LP “has more symphony” (a delightfully Spinal Tappian claim, making reference to the orchestrations by renowned arranger Mike Moran). While it remains a mystery as to whether or not it was recorded in Dobly, Atlantis is certainly the band’s most grandiose statement to date, as the band persist in indulging all the musical excesses of classic seventies rock (think Queen, think ELO), with no acknowledgement of the four full decades that have since passed. Of course, this sort of enterprise is the purest of love affairs and each of these songs has been crafted with the utmost care. Every guitar break, synth wig-out and quadruple-tracked vocal is era-perfect; this is the majesty of Rock, writ large.

Dec 1, 2020

Jun 25, 2020

Nick D'Virgilio (NDV) - Invisible (Album Review)

Jun 25, 2020

In these days of short attention spans and instant gratification, there’s something very refreshing about sitting down with your favourite beverage, placing an album on/in the stereo and letting an artist take you on a musical journey. Nick D’Virgilio has been on a personal musical journey that began a few years before the release of his debut solo album back in 2001. Nick is probably best known for his time in Spock’s Beard where he started as the drummer and branched out into frontman duties. But this association barely scratches the surface of a varied and interesting CV; there’s an ongoing relationship with Big Big Train – and fifteen years working with Tears For Fears - while still finding time to record and/or perform with many of the best in the business including the late Kevin Gilbert, Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa) and a five-year stint as drummer/singer/assistant bandleader with the Cirque Du Soleil organisation touring their Totem show. For ‘Invisible’ Nick D’Virgilio (NDV) pulls together elements from all of his various musical endeavours and throws in a left turn or two on an obvious labour of love that finds the singer/drummer/multi-instrumentalist at the top of his game.

Jun 25, 2020

Jul 15, 2019

Espanola - Espanola (Album Review)

Jul 15, 2019

Listening to the new self-titled album from Espanola is a bit like pulling on a pair of boots that you’ve worn every day for the last twenty years. This is music so comforting and worn-in; so natural and loose that, despite being released in 2019, stirs feelings of nostalgia and warmth normally reserved for those precious pieces of vinyl you’ve owned forever. As I listen I am forced to ask myself: “is this really happening?” and, as the vintage classics pour forth, I occasionally slap myself to check it isn’t a dream. It transpires I am fully awake and that this could be the realest thing I’ve heard in decades.

Jul 15, 2019