If you have been following the blog on Facebook or on
Twitter you will know that I have been looking forward to this one, so I knew
it was going to be a good day when I woke up on Wednesday to find this record
tucked up in my inbox.
A couple of weeks ago I reviewed Primevil Elements which I
really enjoyed, but all the way through the process of meeting the band etc
they had been adamant that the new EP was going to be something special. They
may not have said it outright but you just got the feeling that they had high
hopes for this record. So naturally by the time I got to hit play on it so did
I.
Somewhat unusually the first thing you notice is the
artwork; it really ties in with the rest of the EP and just helps gives the
whole thing a bit more of a professional feel. Bass takes centre stage on
opening track ‘Endless Retribution’ with a short quiet intro leading into a thundering
guitar riff. It’s full throttle and high on energy but interspersed by short
almost acoustic interludes. The tempo changes give a nice variation while the
vocal falls somewhere between James Hetfield of Metallica and David Draiman of
Disturbed.
‘Die Inside’ picks up exactly where ‘Endless Retribution’ left
off, the pace is just relentless. The main riff is nothing massively complex or
spectacular but it does exactly what it’s supposed to do. It pulls the track
along and most importantly it’s catchy. It will have you humming along in no
time. This is something I felt that Primevil
Elements lacked so it’s great to hear this progression. The song also
features a brilliant breakdown where the drums lead the way into almost a
march. Everything then kicks back up a gear eventually leading into an
impressive guitar solo.
Final track ‘Never In the Sun’ is the longest track on the
EP and in my view will make a great addition to their live set. Personally I
would use it to close the show; it’s got that kind of epic feel to it, but
that’s just me. This is the song that had me hitting the replay button over and
over again. Out of everything that I have heard from the band this has to be my
favourite track.
It starts off in slow
methodical mood, with a Metallica style drum beat laying the foundations. But I
really fell in love with the track at precisely 1 minute and 54 seconds. This
is when the first tempo change/progression kicks in. This is Black Sabbath
circa 1970; to me this is how hard rock/metal should sound.
Now I can be listening to a song and nodding away and
enjoying it but when something really grabs my ear my mates will tell you I
start to smile like a total idiot. That progression got that smile. (Yes I’m a
music geek)The layering of the guitars in sections is very Thin Lizzy, and the
solo as always is totally on point. Lyrically it hits the spot and the way the
track winds down towards the end gives a real feeling of completion.
The quality on display on Blind Ambition is frankly second to none. The band have used their
previous material as a springboard and the progression here is remarkable. The
songs are better structured, and everything just sounds more polished and well
rounded. The musicianship is top notch and the bands willingness to let the
bass come to the forefront of tracks is something which should applauded.
It’s focused, it’s hard-hitting, and it’s simply brilliant.
No comments:
Post a Comment