Well, all the cool kids are talking
about ASG eh? Especially now they have been picked up by the
metal label of the 21st century so far Relapse Records.
The band's discography prior to Blood Drive has been stellar.
The raw sounds from their first few releases were tuned up for 2007's
Win Us Over, but they managed to keep all the songwriting
inspiration flowing. The charm of this band is contagious indeed, so
does the new album live up to all this media hype?
Baroness could take a leaf out of ASG's
book, this is how you write a mature album, not the misfire that was
Yellow & Green. Well maybe its the other way around here,
when you hear 'Stargazin'' the first thing you think is how well it
would slot in to the Blue Record. They have a haunting air of
Alice In Chains at some points, but Blood Drive is much more
metallic overall in terms of the riffage. Just listen to 'Hawkeye'.
Kylesa anyone? This is one of the more punchy tracks on the album,
but it still holds on to a fragile nostalgic sorrow.
So, to the highlights. Starting with my
reaction of “Fucking Hell” when 'Castlestorm' comes blasting in - what a track! This excites my erogenous zones. Brooding, heavy but
collected and rewarding, similar to 'Children's Music' - a great song
with a soaring chorus. When 'Earthwalk' finally awakens it is like a
moment of clarity. You hear the band saying, “Come with us and see
what we can see”. Beautiful.
There is a bit of a tailing off at the
end of the album, 'The Ladder' slows things down but doesn't reduce the listening quality. 'Good Enough To Eat', the final farewell is an even more sombre
offering. Don't let this discourage you, this is still a top quality
album. If the power of the riff compels you, grab this record, a
couple of beers, take it outside and crank it. Just in time for
summer, enjoy folks!
No comments:
Post a Comment