2007-11-13
I reviewed this hard rockin' American band's debut album – Hail The Kingdom a few years back, and was blown away by it. A combination of traditional American hard rock with some
AC/DC raunchy attitude, spiced with strong vocals and a great lead guitarist, the band just had what it takes.
Musically, the band's second release walks a similar path, but it seems they took some elements further; overall they created what is a deeper, more layered album, which is also better produced. The only track here that also appeared in their debut – Feeling Overloaded, sounds better this time, and still fits in with the rest of the songs.
The first two tracks are example of the change the band infuses into this album, there's a blusier feel to the proceedings, combined with a more aggressive attitude that is evident in the drumming and some of the guitar riffs. It's no grunge album by a long shot, but some of the ideas in these two tracks brought to mind some of the early material by the better grunge bands, when traditional hard rock was still the basis for their music.
Presidents Day is one of the finest tracks the band has written thus far, catchy and driving, vocalist Chris Gillen gives a stellar performance here, his ballsy delivery reminded me of another Gillen, the sadly departed Ray Gillen, of Badlands fame.
The band's lead guitarist, Erik (or ERiK as he appears in the booklet) can still deliver one hell of a lead, his work on Feeling Overloaded is just what this music needs – solid melody lines, a flashy attitude, and a good sense of what the song needs instead of just showing off.
I'm not sure if the band self-released this album because they didn’t find the right label, or because they adhere to the current anti-label policy popular among young bands, but this is certainly major label material. If Roadrunner signs hard rock bands such as Airbourne and Black Stone Cherry, then
Overloaded are easily worthy additions.
Alon Miasnikov
