Today I have an interesting, confounding beast to discuss
waveriders. I'm not entirely sure what
to make of this new four song offering scheduled to be released by Ektro
Records on March 17, 2017. At this time
I am sure of only two things. 1) The
name of the EP is Queen Of Hell and
2) I genuinely enjoy spending time inside the musical landscape which Iron Magazine manufactures!
Iron Magazine is
the moniker chosen to represent the collaborative efforts of Danko Jones and
John Calabrese from Danko Jones, and
Jussi Lehtisalo and Tomi Leppänen from Circle. I cannot directly compare IM's music with that of the parent
groups because I only have a passing familiarity with Danko Jones and Circle. What I can hopefully provide is sufficient
enticement to check out this new band, so let's get to it!
The title track opens up the proceedings and the listener is
immediately taken back to the 1970s with a truly classic hard rock/metal sound. Then the synthesizer flourishes kick in and
we're suddenly thrust forward through time to the 1980s. What we end up with is glorious old-school
hard rock with a touch of glam and a bit of prog in the mix. "Queen Of Hell" will get stuck in
your head whether you want it to or not, guaranteed. "556" uses the NWOBHM as the base
template for the song but again the keys add a digitized melodic sheen that
help the track stand out. "Foes To
Fire" is a showcase for Danko Jones to display how well he can emulate
Ozzy Osbourne. "Rise To Deth" brings
more modern metal influences to the table, specifically usage of growled vocals
to help accent certain passages.
Now I can imagine the question you're asking right now? Based off of my description, what makes Iron Magazine the 'confounding beast' I
mentioned at the beginning of this review?
Well, I can't comfortably put a label on them for starters. Also although I highly recommend you
investigate this music waveriders, I can't escape the fact that I wasn't blown
away when I first heard this band. It
took a couple of days before the truly insidious nature of these tunes was
revealed and I began involuntarily humming these songs at work. That being said...I now routinely find myself
humming these songs at work. It's a
fact!
Bottom line my friends?
Put Iron Magazine on your
radar and pick up their new Queen Of Hell
EP on the 17th. Your ears will thank
you.
-Penfold
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