Outtrigger - The Last of Us (2014)

In the beginning of 2014, metal core band Outtrigger took Sweden by storm when they entered the competition Melodifestivalen, which acted as the qualification to the famous Eurovision Song Contest, with their song "Echo". And together with a nice stage performance that included cages, a straight jacket, and a Hannibal Lecter mask, the band was very close to reach the final in the competition, but was eliminated in the segment that is called Andra Chansen (Second Chance). Almost a year has gone since their participation, and now they are ready to reveal their debut album, entitled "The Last of Us".

And you probably guessed it already, "Echo" is indeed in this album, just like a couple of other songs the band has previously released in EPs, demos and singles. There is not much in difference in between the old and new versions of the older songs (except for better production of course). However, the track "Awaken Me" is another story, since the band made an acoustic version for this album. It definitely works as an acoustic song and it is one of my favourites in this album, but the heaviness that the original had was better than most of the heaviness in "The Last of Us".

But I see why the band made "Awaken Me" acoustic. Without it, there would be close to no variety in this album. Almost all of the songs in "The Last of Us" have the same, simple, boring structure, making the album very monotonous. Such a shame since the band seems to know how to handle their instruments, and the singer, and co-founder of the band, Simon Peyron has a nice voice (although, his growling is weak. Fortunately, it is not used too much in the album).

So you really have to dig deep to find any favourites in the album. "Echo" is definitely a winner thanks to its sing along friendly chorus and "Awaken Me" stands out since it is the only acoustic song in the album, but it gets tougher after that. "World of Fire" has some nice intensity, opener "Superman Is Dead" has a good melody to it and there are some feeling to the title track. But once again, thanks to the overall monotonous sound, "The Last of Us" is just a big lump of the same thing, making it hard to swallow. There is some quality to it, but no one wants to listen to the same thing again and again.

Outtrigger certainly has talent, and with some elbow grease, they could become a very interesting band. But "The Last of Us" leaves a lot  for one to wish for since it contains most of the same thing. It is fine in one song, two songs, maybe even four songs. But a full album of it is too much. So my advice for the guys from Helsingborg, Sweden is that they take their time and improve their song writing, especially on the verses and the structures. They know how to create a catchy chorus, so if they gather enough experience, they could have enough tools to create fantastic music. For now though, it does not quite cut it against the big dogs. "The Last of Us" is a fine debut, but it is just not as good as the video game with the same name.

Songs worthy of recognition: Echo, World of Fire, Awaken Me

Rating: 6/10 Dead Supermen