Bad Rain - 2023 - Room to Breathe

(19:38; Fastball Music)






















Track list:
1. Room to Breathe 3:58
2. Kingdom 3:56
3. Your Chains 3:57
4. Afterlife 3:28
5. Twisted Love 4:19

Line-up:
Dan Byrne - vocals
Veit Schlembach - drums
Dani Davies - guitars
Christian Buchberger - bass
with:
Michael Wagner - guitars
Vinnie Colla - bass
Jona Raischl - keyboards


German band Bad Rain have been around for a few years by now, formed after the members past bands disbanded sometime around 2018 if I have understood matters correctly. This year they have readied themselves for the recording part of their career, and following a couple of initial singles they are now out with the EP "Room to Breathe", which was released through German label Fastball Music.

And this is quite the vitamin pill of a production. While the band describe their music as hard rock, I am one of those slightly older guys that can recall when music of this kind was still referred to as heavy metal. The truth of the matter, at least as far as I'm concerned, is that this is a band that skips back and forth between early 80s hard rock and traditional, melodic heavy metal. Using the best elements from both of these traditions to create compelling, uplifting and captivating songs.

The uplifting characteristics from the hard rock tradition are very much in place here, complete with a driving bass guitar, tight and playful guitar riffs for the harder edged sections and with space and room for wah wah effects as well as some gentler bluesy details in the more careful passages. From the metal side we get meatier guitar riffs and more majestic arrangements, and powerful, melodic vocals with a little bit of a rasp and quite a lot of character.

This blend is explored in tight rocking affairs, a token power ballad and also songs that ebb and flow between more careful landscapes and more powerful and majestic surges. The hooks are present, the guitar solo runs compelling, the careful keyboard presence is tasteful and efficient when present and the guitar riffs and occasional gentler guitar details are striking and captivating. While this isn't a band that breaks any new ground, they are traversing these landscapes with the firm sense of security of someone that know where they are heading and the landscapes they travel in very well indeed, and use that knowledge to find the most efficient manner in which to get to their destination. Allegorically speaking, obviously.

This is a fun, captivating and enthralling EP, and a production that should have a high appeal among fans of 80s hard rock and traditional heavy metal alike. And in particular those who tend to enjoy the artists from both of these traditions that got on heavy rotation on the radio as well as on MTV back in the day. In my book this is an EP of the kind that would have deserved a spot on the top 10 charts of the best selling releases, and I note it down as a must listen for everyone who love and treasure 80s hard rock and traditional heavy metal of the kind that has a strong commercial appeal.

A small note to those who buy the physical version of the EP to make note of is that, at least for the version sent to me, the printed track listing is a bit out of order. With the songs 'Kingdom' and 'Afterlife' placed differently on the CD than on the printed track list.

Olav M. Björnsen, November 2023

Links:
https://badrainband.com/
http://www.fastball-music.de/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kenneth Roy - 2020 - Chairman

Image
(39:34; Physico Records) Track list: 1. Chairman 3:32 2. Two of a Kind 3:33 3. Let Your Love Come Down 3:19 4. In the Night 5:10 5. Think I'll Stay in the City Tonight 5:06 6. After Dawn 3:46 7. Empty Heart 3:41 8. I Still Love You So 3:21 9. Our Love Will Last 3:54 10. Close Enough to Know 4:12 Line-up: Kenneth Roy - vocals, drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, melodica, effects Doctor Ryman - guitars, drums, bass, arrangements, effects with: Baron Chase - bass Richard Howell - saxophones, arrangements Geechi Taylor - trumpet Danny Armstrong - trombone Veteran US artist Kenneth Roy has been around for the last three decades or thereabouts, but as I haven't been able to trace just how many albums he has released over the years I don't know how productive he has been over the years. The album "Chairman" dates back to 2020, and appears to be the most recent of his excursions as a solo artist. I was fairly impressed with this album when I gave it a more superf
Read more

Dusk Of Delusion - 2022 - COrollarian RObotic SYStem [CO​.​RO​.​SYS]

Image
(46:57; Fantai'Zic / Metal East) Track list: 1. 09-04-2022 0:50 2. Shadow Workers 6:03 3. The Snap 3:23 4. £1ONH€4RT_B4$T4RD 3:55 5. Tinplate Soldiers 4:19 6. Legal Slaves 4:51 7. Taking the Hit 3:51 8. Market Street 4:34 9. The Hatred Confession 5:26 10. For the Flesh, Press Repeat 4:44 11. Erotic Infusion 5:01 Line-up: Benoit Guillot - vocals Matthieu Morand - guitars, synths, keys Claude Colmars - guitars Julien Skorka - bass, vocals Natan Gengenbacher - drums with: Bettina Pidolle - voice Lucas Michel - saxophone French band Dusk of Delusion is a self-described modern metal band from France that have been active since 2016, with one EP and three studio albums to their name at this stage. "COrollarian RObotic SYStem [CO.RO.SYS]" is the name of their most recent production, which was released through the French labels Fantai'zic and Metal East Productions in the fall of 2022. While I don't really know what modern metal means, the closest I get in my own percepti
Read more

The Radio Makers - 2023 - Lucky Stars [Got My Radio]

Image
(40:21; The Radio Makers) Track list: 1. Edible Hearts 3:42 2. Echoes 3:44 3. Jo-Jo 4:56 4. Song for Rainy Afternoons 3:54 5. Girl Who Looks Like You 4:37 6. I'm a Poseur 3:23 7. Lucky Stars 4:37 8. Where Have All the Flowers Gone? 4:05 9. I'm a Tribute (To Me) 2:53 10. Talk About You 4:30 Line-up: Andy Maddison - vocals, guitars Ian McKenna - guitars, vocals BG Mulcahy-Bowman - bass, keyboards, vocals Keith McKenna - drums, percussion with: Mike Pick - drums, percussion Steve Evansson - keyboards, vocals UK band The Radio Makers have been a feature in the UK music scene for a good handful of years, with Bristol as their base of operations. Following a number of years honing their craft on stage and presumably in the rehearsal studio, the band are now out with their debut album. This creation is called "Lucky Stars [Got My Radio]", and was self-released by the band. The self-description of The Radio Makers place them inside of a power pop context with a little bit of
Read more