The New Black
In listening to this as I’m writing, I feel like a TV chef putting together a recipe, for as Dirvla Kirwan will rant on, ‘’its not just black, this is ‘THE NEW BLACK’’’ in those naughty tones she speaks in. So its a touch of Thin Lizzy, a tablespoon of Black Label Society, 250g of Pantera, 50ml of Metallica, place in a very metallic bowl, fold in the ingredients, not too hard or you’ll break and ruin the consistency! Bake in your Black Metal oven, gas mark ‘Hotter Than Hell’ for 60 mins , which is lower than ‘Burn’ but higher than ’99 in the shade’, then voila, you have The New Black! Tasty!
Unusually, for the sound that comes out of them, I’m surprised to learn that they hail from Deutschland. Unlike Klaus Meine, singer Fludid has perfect annotation, and sings without a German accent, making it all a very sounding US rock band. It’s also no surprise that there is a Sinner influence to their style, with guitarist Christof Leim being a past member of Sinner. For all the influences heard from them, TNB seem to have carved out their own signature sound. Its all about groove based riffs, no pomp, not overblown, with melodies that are as catchy as hell, and heavy as fuck. Very gritty, very hook laden, very ROCK. Real Rock. Man Rock. Howllllllll
Opener ‘Everlasting’ sets out the guy’s stall. Within seconds of the opening riff, the Thin Lizzy influence gets to you. It’s all good stuff, 100 per cent beefed up Lizzy, Kroegered and Pantera’d for good measure. OK the vocals aren’t as powerful as Id like, but Fludid isn’t a poor singer by any means. The vocals fit the style and thats all that matters. The pace continues with the pounding, foot stomping, head banging riffs of ‘Why I Burn’, with a bit of Layne Staley/ Scott Weiland influence going on. Other highlights of this very impressive debut are ‘Welcome to Point Black’, angry metal at its best, the melodic sounding ‘Im Coming Home’ and ‘More Than A Man’, to the bluesy Southern influenced ‘Ballad of Broken Angels’
Forget some of the older bands turning out average quality metal, put your hard earned spondoolies into a new band trying to make it in the real world. The New Black is an impressive debut, and one worth listening to
If your idea of Metal Heaven is Lizzy heavied up by Pantera riffs, growling vocals, but also with a great melodic metal tone then you will not be disappointed. Another quality release for 2009