The Devil's next door neighbours
It may have taken nine years, but British metal act Smokescreen have finally found themselves in a position to release their first full length album. Following three self-financed mini-albums, "The Human Condition" thunders onto the scene with eleven tracks of metal brutality injected with a severe dosage of Southern rock.
Commencing with a radio-scrambling introduction, the album's title track 'The Human Condition' pummels into action. Although the album offers a variety of meaty riffs to sink your teeth into, nothing quite compares to the standard set in this track and not only is it one of the finest you'll hear on this album, 'The Human Condition' boasts one of the best riffs you'll hear this year. As with many of the songs to feature, Smokescreen have the incredible knack of knowing exactly which chord to use to transition into their choruses and it certainly shows the strength of the band's musical competence. A stunning album opener.
Tracks such as 'The Neverending Day' and 'Way Down' erect themselves as pillars of the album, packing powerful punches to establish that Smokescreen have no intention of sitting back and hoping that the force of the opening title track will carry through to the end. 'Once You're In Hell' reveals a contrastingly reflective side of the five-piece's sound and although it still provides the opportunity to exercise a ballsy riff, it allows guitarist Tommy Loose to project his lyrical guitar leads. As the album continues with 'Madman's Lullaby', the electric guitar melodies soar ever higher above a diverse, fused harmonic style.
The balancing of raucous and clean vocals, for example in 'On My Side', works well and adds an extra dimension to the dynamicism of Smokescreen's sound. Especially having ventured through the monstrous riffage of 'Bidin' My Time', this versatility stands out and illustrates an awareness of album/track pacing. Finale 'Seeds' continues to employ the juxtaposition of styles and although the verses expose the vocals quite considerably, singer Sam Loose has done a commendable job of, not only holding the track together, but instilling a sense of feeling into the track. There are instances where Loose's vocals falter marginally, but we should never have arrived at the point where we are in a position to criticise a band because they have not autotuned every note.
"The Human Condition" may not have the finest production values, with songs such as 'Once You're In Hell' occasionally suffering from misaligned rhythms. Smokescreen clearly haven't had it easy and have had to work hard to get to where they are. Although "The Human Condition" lacks the top-level production values that we have increasingly (and unfairly for emerging bands) grown to expect, the debut full-length album still effectively demonstrates the potential of the brutal British quintet. It'll be exciting to see what they have in store for us next!