Stone Gods release 'Silver Spoons and Broken Bones'
Formed after the demise of highly successful and passionately comical band the Darkness, the Stone Gods takes lead guitarist Dan Hawkins, rhythm guitarist and lead singer Richie Edwards, drummer Ed Graham and bassist Toby MacFarlaine to new levels of extraordinary with their debut release, the highly anticipated 'Silver Spoons & Broken Bones'.
To clear things up from the start, you are remembered not to go into this record expecting anything like the tunes Darkness were releasing. This band differs COMPLETEY in their vocal, musical and attitude arrangements and ambitions. There are no comical Justin Hawkins vocals on this record, no rugged uneven sputters of words or high-pitched tones. Ritchie is able to contain himself in a wide range of musical pitches and tempos from the loud screeches of ‘I’m With The Band’ to the softer and subtle sound that run through a number of tracks. One thing that remains consistent is his zealous nature for all he is singing.
Each track present on this release is saturated with passion, originality and pure rock rhythms. Being the first track to listen to, ‘Burn The Witch’ sums up the album as a whole pretty damn well. From the sounds, the excitement and enjoyment of playing and singing, you know that the rest of the tracks are going to be of such high quality.
Most of the tracks have sing-a-long choruses. The upbeat shouts to ‘You Brought A Knife To A Gunfight’ are incredible and had me grasped at the first shout of “if you think you’ve got a chance take a shot now”. ‘Don't Drink The Water’ has an energy driven chorus that once heard, will remain a firm favourite.
The album sounds very much an album of pleasing tunes that vary from pure hard rock energies of ‘Defend or Die’, more ballad folksy tunes like ‘Magdalene Street’, the quite peaceful soulful sounds of ‘Lazy Bones’ and the softer rock arrangements of ‘Where You Coming From’ that very much sound reminiscent of Bon Jovi’s early days; their best days.
The riffs run through these tracks like a man running from the devil. The static energies gather power and force through the first twelve tracks and because of this, they let lose a wonder of creation with the concluding number ‘Oh Where 'O My Beero’ a track that has it all, and makes an excellent closing number to a great album.