Simon Rushworth
Heavy metal goes head to head with rock n roll this week as we look at four killer records to suit all tastes. Leading the pack is the latest aural explosion from US nosie merchants Killswitch Engage but if you think that’s enough to blast an eardrum then you’ve not heard the new Suicide Silence record.
On the lighter side we focus on Merseyside good time groovers The Jokers and an impressive slice of southern rock style boogie from US stars Cold Truth.
Killswitch Engage – Killswitch Engage (Roadrunner)
At the forefront of the so-called New Wave Of American Heavy Metal, the Massachusetts mob are clearly out to show they mean business on album number five and, dispensing with a title for the new record, they let the music do the talking.
This is both melodic and thrashy, loud and proud, thought-provoking and brain curdling. Vocalist Howard Jones (no, not that Howard Jones) can scream and growl with the best of them but appears to benefit from bringing out a more mainstream sound under the direction of AC/DC producer Brendan O’Brien.
Tracks like Starting Over are genuinely classy statements of intent from a metal band going places in 2009. It’s all over in less than 40 minutes – like a good rock record should be – but after 11 blasts from Killswitch that’s more than enough. An exciting release from an exacting band.
rushonrock rated: 8/10Â Fully EngagedÂ
Suicide Silence – No Time To Bleed (Century Media)
So it’s not that easy to settle down with a glass of red and relax when faced with vocalist Mitch Lucker’s manly, almost beastly, growl but then this isn’t music for watching the world go by.
This is the thrashiest, darkest, scariest stuff you’re likely to hear in 2009 but don’t be fooled by the neanderthal shouting; beneath the uncommonly uncomfortable surface lurks some quite sensational musicianship.
Opener Wake Up sets the shrill tone and it doesn’t get much more melodic than that. But the guitar hooks are well worth listening to and check out the inro to Smoke – smokin’ and with a drum roll to die for.
rushonrock rated: 5/10 Silence Is Golden
The Jokers – The Big Rock & Roll Show (Cargo Records)
There’s little doubt we had high hopes for this sassy looking CD when it landed through the door but talk about a let down…
As fans of the Quireboys, The Andwer, Georgia Satellites and their ilk we were more than confident that TBR&RS wouldn’t disappoint. But it did. Moments of magic like the title track and Ocean Of Kings were eclipsed by a prevailing sense of mediocrity from a band which should be capable of far better than this.
Perhaps the Mike Fraser (AC/DC) mix didn’t do them any favours or perhaps they picked the wrong tracks for an unpredictably dull debut. The Jokers will be just that unless they can bounce back from the brink and give these nine songs a new lease of life in the live arena.
rushonrock rated: 5/10 Joke’s On Us
Cold Truth – Do Whatcha Do (Cold Truth)
Throw together four Nashville veterans happy to hark back to the 70s and what do you get? One of the surprise packages of 2009 and a must for any fan of super cool Southern rock with a bulging blues underbelly. Cold Truth put the classic into Classic Rock and the fact that we’re new converts to singer Thane Shearon is, quite frankly, a crime.
Tracks like the soaring Set Me Free and driving rocker Diesel are just perfect for hot and humid nights sipping JD and telling campfire tales. There’s an ease and a confidence underpinning Cold Truth’s music which suggests these guys could write sensational rock records with their eyes shut.
Shut yours and you could be rockin out in a different place at a different time and right then the only truth that matters will be the Cold Truth.
rushonrock rated: 9/10 Cold Comfort