Jono Moulds checks out the debut album, 'You Destroy You', from Marty Venus for The Rock & Roll Circus.
Marty Venus introduction :-
Hi, I'm Marty Venus, for anyone who doesn't know me. If you do, you may have heard of me from my last band, however now, I have taken the time to bring out some of my own music!
Over the years, I’ve had a lot of music I have written or in process of writing that wasn’t quite fitting with my current band’s sound or wasn’t something they felt would work. With my newfound ability to create great sounding home recordings with Reaper and advice from some close friends, I seek to finish these songs and put them out into the world.
My initial inspiration for the project came from Slash’s first solo effort, in which each song featured a different vocalist, I loved the concept and dreamed of doing something similar, both to create an interesting experience for the listener and to have a more varied experience with different voices and styles and now I have the ability, resources and personnel to do it! With being locked down due to the pandemic, collaboration has been a huge part in getting my music out and still performing for people, so in that same spirit, my album holds that in as well.
The whole project is a big labour of love, which I will be spending a lot of time on before I share it with the world. I want it to be the best it can be, but to do that I will require more financing! With your help, I can put out all that I would want to for all of you to enjoy!
The slow introduction of a guitar ‘billowing’ out feedback from a ramped-up amp that’s dial has been turned to 10, announces (Makes me Feel) Alive. From this point forth, a strong and bluesy sounding guitar riff slowly walks into the songs spotlight, with only sporadic drums, for support. Speaking of which, there’s quite a unique drum pattern laid down, as we head into the ‘meat and potatoes’’ of the track, which comes across in equal measure as both unusual and impressive, all in one fell swoop. Musically, as we travel through verse one, the predominant vibe is both from that angry guitar sound and persistent/relentless drum pattern. It feels like we have a blues/grunge fusion if that makes sense. Vocally, and as briefed above, each song will see a different singer being brought into the fold, which is going to be interesting, seeing how style fits in with each song – looking forward to it. On this opening salvo, ‘Adam Chambers’ has been selected to offer his wares up first, and he does it with some aplomb, with a vicious and barbed attack throughout. The songs guitar segment certainly demonstrates skill, coupled with a lovely tone. The scene has been set, so let’s roll onto track two, with haste.
‘Breaking Sounds’ smashes into play next in the form of another slick and technically star-studded guitar riff, as a prolonged snare drum roll frog marches the song straight into the centre of the first verse. By this time, that initial riff is left behind in the distance and replaced with a simpler, yet still effective piece, no doubt, this is for the vocal to sit atop of the song, without the track becoming ‘dirty’ and too ‘busy’. As for the vocal, it’s tricky trying to liken the style to anybody, but for me, ‘Hevanz’ certainly has a mix of ‘Axl Rose’ meets ‘Vince Neil’ – what do you think?? The songs initial tempo changes direction around halfway through, as it reduces considerably, as the atmosphere is filled with light guitar touches, psychedelic bass runs and minimalistic beats, but you can’t keep this from being caged for too long as a superbly played solo shatters the still. Great guitar riffs, great solo and all round top playing – what’s not to like.
Guitar is once again used as the initial building blocks to start off ‘Ruined Fantasy’, where a picked chord run is soon replaced by some classic, palm muted power chords that drives the opening verse. From the off, there are no ‘airs and graces’ to this tune, as we get back to ‘Rock basics’ with a solid rhythm section locking everything into place, allowing for the vocal to be right out front, and moving at a veritable speed. This time around we have ‘Maria Verhelst’ on lead vocal, as she sings with a mix of ‘subtlety and angst’ all in good measure, making her way through verse and beyond with passion and determination. As the bridge enters the fray, the tune falls away momentarily, only to be re-ignited by a ‘Verhelst’ scream that brings forth another well played guitar piece by ‘Venus’. This is a straight-ahead Rock ‘n Roller, which there is always room for, anytime, anyplace.
After some opening guitar feedback shenanigans, ‘Desire’ opens with, dare I say it, an almost ‘Motorhead’ type guitar riff (proper Rock ‘n Roll that). This thing isn’t going hang around, that’s for sure. If you’re going to throw down the ‘metal’ gauntlet with that type of riff, then the singer needs to match it in equal measure, and so it came to pass, as ‘Leandro Bastos’ comes in and does more than a commendable job of ‘screaming and whaling’ throughout this full-on lightning bolt of rock. Just when you thought this was going to steam roller us from start to finish, there is a respite to be found in the form of some mellow bass lines that alter the direction and vibe of the song with immediate effect. This change brings in more menace, as drums pound and the vocal are put into shackles, before being released as the starting gun to a ‘Venus’ guitar onslaught where further mayhem ensues. My fav song so far. Has a bit of everything in this classic rock recipe.
‘Nothing in Common’ once again opens with an ominous and downright dirty guitar riff that has been born out the fire of ‘Mount Riff’ and forged by ‘Venus’ himself (almost Tolkienesque that). There is simply no denying, that the sound and tone of that guitar certainly sets the mood and then some. This bad boy is heavy and drips with thick molten metal, which is certainly enhanced by guest singer ‘Atashi Tada’ who’s vocal has a rawness and edge to it that sits perfectly within the tracks dark and foreboding feel, couple this with ‘Tada’ singing the song half in English and the other half in (I think Latvian??) and we have even more of an underlying authority. This song is all about attitude and dominance that’s driven by both the searing vocal and dark guitar overtones. This is a monster of a tune.
A gentle, chorus laden guitar opens the doorway into ‘You Destroy You’ which features the bewitching vocal of ‘Maria Verhelst’, with her voice offering both beauty and power. The song weaves between an almost ethereal feel and some harder edged passages, as it rises and falls through the early stages of the track. With that ‘otherworldly’ sounding guitar, being the focus throughout the verses, it reminds me of something from the first ‘Rainbow’ album, it has that musicality about it, but at the flick of a guitar riff, we feel the song surge into more turbulent waters, which invites ‘Velherst’ to drive some of that (up until now) contained power into the song. This she does brilliantly. With the songs arrangement ‘swooping’ back and forth, it certainly creates some super spaces for ‘Venus’ to wield some tonal magic on the guitar. At over six minutes, this has some serious texture and emotion built into it. Top tune.
An extended ’EVH’ style guitar riff gives us the opportunity to ‘Burn Down your Fear’. Indeed, this riff is a constant throughout the intro and into the verse sections, as this time ‘Daniel Lawrence’ guests (with some aggression and torment I should say) on this explosive and up-tempo tune. There seems to be a constant battle between ‘Virdi and Venus’ as guitar licks are offered up only for the vocalist to try and ensure that he not only keeps up with them, but also, surpasses them at every given chance (of course, without tripping each other up). Once again, there is some further examples of ‘Venus’ guitar technique as ‘hammer-on’ flurries hit you from every angle. In fact, it feels like there are more allowances for guitar parts within this track than any other on the album, which is confirmed as the second batch features ‘Ben Skingley’, with some fine playing, to boot. A song that certainly doesn’t let the dust settle, as it feels like it’s over, before its begun.
‘Who’s to Blame’ moves into a new sounding territory altogether, all grunge soaked, with hints of ‘Sabbath’ thrown into this ‘dark and eerie’ mix. The ‘morose’ introductory guitar is soon replaced with an ominous overdriven riff, giving the tune more of that already stated ‘dark’ feel. ‘Aman Virdi’ produces a vocal that certainly sits well within the texture and arrangement of this track, as he joins solemn bass and drums within the opening verse, laying down an ’ominous’, low range ‘drool’ as the atmosphere builds. Indeed, this climaxes as both commanding guitar and what can only be described as a ‘possessed vocal’ that emerges to send the song into black, that its structure deserves. In amongst all this heavy, cloying, and sinister mood, the serenity of what sounds like a sitar throws a bit of light into proceedings, but this is only the preface to the song’s guitar piece, which kicks in seamlessly. Yet another track that shows how diverse this album is.
After a momentarily spoken introduction, its back to full on metal madness, as ‘Grey Fox’ is brought forth by another searingly strong riff, that boldly leads the tune forward. It must be said, that ‘Flash Roxx Sawyer’ (great rock ‘n roll name that!!) has immediate impact, sounding uncannily like ‘Axl Rose’ both in his vocal style and the added inflections that he produces – outstanding. The tune travels at pace, but, has some great lines that are both tuneful and harmonious, that lifts the song at just the right moments. A ‘mystical’ bridge is presented, that sets the scene for what is an equally provocative, lengthy and phase effected guitar solo, which runs from its point of entry, until the tracks abrupt ending. This is up there for me as one of the stand-out songs on the album.
‘Snake Eater’ (unusual title? Answers on a postcard please) completes this uniquely put together album, and in line with the eclectic selection served up for us, this final tune has an almost ‘Bond theme’ opening to it, helped along the way by the latest singer to grace this opus, that being ‘Shona Ferguson’. In fact, it retains that spy thriller vibe along the length of the track. Relatively short in length, the tune most certainly has depth and intrigue and times its conclusion well.
It's not that often (well not to me at least) where an album of original material is produced using a different singer on each of the songs. Whether by design, or by the fact that each vocalist brought their own ‘je ne sais quoi’ to their assigned track, there are many differing styles and moods in amongst each song produced.
A brave decision, but one, that overall, has paid dividends, in the sense that you just never know what you’re going get, as one tune completes itself and the other starts (a smorgasbord of music, so to speak). All centralised and frame-worked by some great guitar from ‘Venus’, that runs from track one to track ten, this is an album that can never be classed as one dimensional. Unique, clever, and surprising.
Review by Jono Moulds
Check out “Breaking Sounds” feat. Richie Hevanz (Official Lyric Video)
Find all the links to Marty Venus and the new music here > Linktr.ee/martyvenus
Ceri Davies
Presenter and Co-Director
