These Canadians are a new prospect for me so I took the opportunity to check out their debut before giving this an airing. First thing to strike you is the bands genuine and successful attempt at blending 80s heavy metal riffing with a modern twist in a way that compatriots Cauldron have gone for, though this is far sleazier and stoner like in atmosphere. Kicking off with the title track the dirty heavy metal buzz riff has a tune similar to old Raven and any other British heavy metal act you’d like to name, Tank even I guess. The pace is speedy and borders thrash in places but the leads are truly 80s heavy metal halcyon days.
Onto “Dark Side Of The Barn” and you are hit by AC/DC like rocking for a short time before morphing into full dirty metal with vocals that sound like the guy smokes 80 a day until the chorus. “Gate Creeper” has a strange mix of styles from sleaze to garage rock as this song possesses a 70s feel due to the keyboard inclusions. Into “Keg Stand And Deliver” and here a bluesy rock style similar to Spiritual Beggars is felt. There is a fist pumping feel to this album which is also heard on their debut and there I suspect fans who own the debut will be disappointed as this is very similar to said debut only with a more defined bass sound and an increase in the slickness of the leads.
With albums like this you can spot so many nuances and influences from yesteryear bands such as early Motorhead for the filth, Thin Lizzy for melodies and guitar hooks that it does make you crave those albums instead. I do like the bands penchant for a riff such as the one that starts “Quest For The Cube”, which is gritty in a bottle of ale and cigarette in the gob manner. There is a huge stoner rock vibe going on in “Brother Fear” being slower and concentrating entirely on groove and leads. “Skid Marks The Spot” apart from the crap title is a ball busting heavy metal anthem with emphasis on the heavy side of metal and ends with a beer fuelled bruising riff.
As mentioned previously it is easy to pick out old influences but for the modern touches the band has some similarities to High On Fire, Bison B.C. and latter C.O.C. and fans of any those won’t be disappointed by any means.
http://www.myspace.com/theinfamousbarnburner
Martin Harris
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