The Return Of Grunge
Forget Doctor Who and the tardis and don't worry about hunting down Marty Mcfly and nicking his Delorean, time travel is now at your fingertips thanks to Nottingham's Dead Souls. The instant the trio's latest album, Coma blasts out the initial chunky, fuzz fuelled riff you will be transported back to the 90s when grunge was at its height and Seattle was the place to form a band. But this isn't some nostalgic rehashing by a group of guys simply trying to do grunge by numbers, oh no this is a band that have taken the genre as their backbone and put a whole new spin on. Get ready for your nostalgic trip to dazzle with a shiny new coat of paint.
Coma is all about the heavy riffs fused to melodies and hooks to sink your teeth into and as Point Of Entry gets things under way it's clear the Nottingham natives aren't messing around. Brash and laced with anger tinged vocals, Point Of Entry struts and stomps, infectiously offloading beats to have feet tapping and heads nodding within seconds and when paired with the band's obvious grunge influence, it makes for a lethal concoction. Indeed Dead Souls seem to have a bounty of catchy melodies in their arsenal that come equipped with infectious beats that are near impossible to resist. Teasing with a simple riff, Someday, Something explodes into a gritty rush of rawness destined to nestle in your subconscious for days to come whilst Nightmare aptly takes things to a darker level as lead singer, Michael Preston's voice rages with a gruff rawness complete with a Vedder-esque passion that adds the perfect finishing touch to the track. Ultimately though it is Mermaid where the band explore their true grunge roots; harbouring a sinister edge that mingles brilliantly with Preston's engaging rough and intense vocals, Mermaid has taken the carcass of grunge and brought it kicking and screaming into 2013 with great results.
With new albums from Alice In Chains and Soundgarden out this year, 2013 could just be the year when we see grunge return and whilst some might be happy to see bands simply mimic what others have done before them, Dead Souls have taken a style that is clearly close to their hearts and given it their own unique twist. Sure, the influence of the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam oozes from each tack but the Nottingham trio are far from a mere grunge tribute act and Coma rams home this fact throughout all twelve tracks. Grunge might not have been holding its own at the frontline for quite some years now but it is far from dead and with albums like Coma it can only be a matter of time before a new generation wake up to the marvel of grunge.