Just a couple of weeks ago I found myself greatly enjoying some excellent Southern and stoner rock in the form of Lonely Kamel from that bastion of the Confederacy, Olso in Norway. Now winging my way, another superlative nine tracks of Down tinged gritty groove, but this time, from Serbia! No two ways, rock and metal is an international language, and Concrete Sun seemed to have learned English by listening to Phil, Kirk, Pepper and cohorts, if this album ‘Sky is High’ is anything to judge by.
Kicking off in style with ‘Just a Beginning’, Concrete Sun lay down (no pun intended) a laid back slab of guitars, before upping the pace with the sludgy ‘Euphoria’, the drums swaggering forward in the mix to perfectly complement the layered riffing, whilst vocalist Cerovina Strahinja makes his mark with some dirty blues shouting, delivering the lyrics like he had crawled out of the Bayou rather then hailed from the old Eastern block.
With ‘Last Man Under The Sun’ the band stretch out in some countrified stoner with a gentle opening before some turning the guitars up to ten for the pounding choruses and a nice bluesy solo. Truly, it’s a stand out track that satisfied this old metaller, but still sounding as if it is thoroughly worthy of some radio air time on a classic rock station.
Catchy guitars dominate the heavier ‘D.A.N.U.B.E’ and ‘Junkyard Dog’, the former bringing to mind Pantera with some of the squealing hooks that Dimebag played so well. By the time that title song ‘Sky Is High’ comes around, Concrete Sun have settled nicely into their groove, the track having the trademark chugging guitar riffs so beloved by so many Southern rock acts, complemented by a suitably dirty solo.
I’ll be honest and say the only metal bands I’ve heard before that hailed from Serbia were the more extreme blackened acts that don’t get much playing time in my house. Concrete Sun have changed my view of their scene in this one album, and unlike their countrymen, it is going to have a permanent place on my play lists. That may not sound like much, but with my ever growing music collection, that is a complement indeed.
http://www.myspace.com/concretesunns
Spenny Bullen
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