Black Gremlin - Rock And Raw (2014)
Black Gremlin's debut studio album puts
a lot of emphasis on the words they selected for the title: 'rock'
and 'raw' are what the album's built around, from the recording
process (knocking out the recording sessions in a single day, using
an 8-track reel-to-reel recorder) to the music itself, which blasts
forth with grit and mad energy. Over the course of the seven tracks
(opening with the bloody-knuckled “The Lich” and rocketing on
from there to the shred-packed “Bongoloid”) they tamp all the
head-banging fuel they can into the half-hour or so of tunes on the
album.
Rock And Raw
has a gnarly attitude reminiscent of Municipal Waste's party thrash,
but with a more overt influence from the hard rock groups of the
'80s, cranking out crunchy riffs with a taste for
power-chord-stomping solos. They've also slipped in a few fuzzed-out
passages between the crashing drums and high-speed finger-work,
though, showing they've got what it takes to pull in even the most
thrash-averse stoner rock fans, as with “Optimism”, which you can
find below. There's really no bloat or flab to the album, which
really works to the music's style and strengths, giving it a
freshness that lends itself well to repeated listenings. It's
already out on CD and cassette, but if you have a preference for
vinyl, you'll be happy to know that Retro Vox will be issuing Rock
And Raw on wax sometime next
month. Keep your ears open, and don't miss it when it arrives!
~
Gabriel
For
Fans Of: Black Label Society, Valient Thorr, English Dogs, Orchid,
GWAR
~
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