Rapid Fire Reviews: Episode 4

Rapid Fire Reviews is a series where I give some quick takes on some albums I recently listened to and did not have enough thoughts on to make a full scale review, but still garnered enough interest from me to give them acknowledgment. In this episode, we look into a classic band who makes a comeback, a rookie band, and a trio of bands in between.

Atlas Pain - Tales of A Pathfinder

Here is a band that is most certainly not being affected by the sophomore slump curse that so many talk about. Atlas Pain follow up their excellent debut "What The Oak Left" from two years ago with an even better effort in "Tales of A Pathfinder", a solid folk metal record with some nice, epic elements to it. These Italians is telling a captivating story through their music, weaving through their melodies in excellent fashion to keep you hooked throughout the run time. The band still has some way to go though to create fully complete records, but they are definitely on the right path if they continue down this road.


Rating: 8/10 Homelands

Bloodbound - Rise of The Dragon Empire

Some power metal bands are living and dying by the clichés of the genre, and the Swedes in Bloodbound are definitely one of them. They just love to sing about dragons, knights, kings, and other fantasy inspired things. Fortunately for us, they do back up these cheesy clichés with some solid song crafting, really bringing the power in power metal. It does seem though that Bloodbound has been listening to fellow countrymen Sabaton a lot recently, because I am hearing a lot of the signature bombastic style of those war historians, and as a guy who is not fully into them, it does turn me slightly off. All in all though, it is still a fun power metal record that certainly warrants a spin or two. Also, is that Red Skull fighting a dragon on the cover?

Rating: 7/10 Magical Eyes

Danko Jones - A Rock Supreme

I have always admired the Canadians in Danko Jones for always delivering fun rock and roll, and "A Rock Supreme" is certainly nothing different. Although, it is pretty clear now that they have a formula, and that they follow it through thick and thin, often taking the safer route. Not to say that this album is a copy and paste from the band's previous efforts, it certainly has its own unique moments, but it feels like the same old song and dance again when you take it all in, that the group is singing about getting the girl or just wanna party, and they do so with infectious rhythms and catchy choruses, while throwing in some slower songs here and there. "A Rock Supreme" has its moments, and is still a fun ride, but it is still a predictable one that will not get you very excited.

Rating: 6,5/10 Lipstick Cities

Mystik - S/T

Finally we have a contender for "Debut record of the year", a Swedish blackened speed metal band that turns the clock back to the mid 80's and unleashes a furious rage that is just awesome to behold. Mystik is not doing anything ground breaking, they just play fast, hard, and dark. It also helps that they have a knack for creating really catchy and groovy songs that sticks with you like sap from a tree. They put all the pieces into the right places to make this self titled debut truly special, combining the evil nature of Mercyful Fate with those classic speed metal elements. Go check them out if you have not already, and drench yourself in this glorious riff fest.


Rating: 8,5/10 Hellish Forces

Possessed - Revelations of Oblivion

Okay, so I am not that much into pure old school death metal, but when a band as Possessed gets so much attention as they do, it ultimately leaves me no choice than to check out their first album in 33 years. Frankly, I expected "Revelations of Oblivion" to be an over hyped wall of sound, but to my surprise, it actually had some legs to stand on to warrant the praise. This album is an angry assault of death thrash that works just as good today as it did back then, having an primal evil to it that few bands can match up to. It is still a little too much meat and potatoes for my taste to fully appreciate, but as far as comeback records go, this is certainly one of the more energetic ones out there.

Rating: 7,5/10 Shadowcults

Danko Jones - Fire Music (2015)

The Canadian trio Danko Jones have entertained us for almost 20 years with their easily melted rock and roll. With clean riffs and sing along friendly melodies, the band has become one of the more common sights in the mainstream rock radio scene, which is the main reason to why the band have become so popular. Whenever I party with my friends, I can be sure to hear "Had Enough" and "Just A Beautiful Day" sometime during the evening. So when the band releases a new album, I try to picture myself at some shabby apartment in the middle of the Saturday night, feeling buzzed after a couple of beers, just to get in the right mood.

There is really no surprise that Danko Jones's music works so well with the party atmosphere, something that "Fire Music" demonstrates very well. Not only are there songs about partying, doing drugs and joining bar fights, but the music is so intoxicating that it makes everyone happy. So what is it with this music that makes it so groovy? It is mostly the clean riffs and the shear drive that drives the listener crazy, but that would have not been possible without the main man Danko's passion and power. His unique voice and drive gives the album at least two more dimensions than what it would have without him.

Some songs in "Fire Music" do have the potential to become new fan favourites, like the dangerous "Piranha", the groovy "The Twisting Knife", and the rocking "Do You Wanna Rock". And even if "Fire Music" is a fine stand alone piece in the Danko Jones discography, it is obvious that the band has just refined already used methods. You can definitely hear that "Body Bags" have borrowed some traits from "Had Enough", but it does not make the song any worse, it just shows that the band has found a sound that fits them like a glove.

The band does show a good amount of variation in this album, which is directly necessary to not make the band a one trick pony. Unfortunately, most of these other tricks are either weird or just not really fitting the band that well. The bluesy ballad "I Will Break Your Heart" makes me sleepy while the hill billy tune "Watch You Slide" is only fitting in some Starsky and Hutch car chase (still a fun song though). Then we have "Getting Into Drugs" which just blows my mind. The lyrics makes me confused over if it is for or against drugs and Danko himself sounds like Jack Black. It still does have its charm and a small hint of comedy ("Don't care who likes it 'cause I'm 10 feet tall/I wanna save the world and fuck in toilet stalls"), but it is just too weird of a song. I bet they were on drugs when writing it.

"Fire Music" is another fine album by the Canadians, but something in me says that the band can, and will not do anything more than this. They are happy with the kind of quality they are holding up with and have no idea to really go for that perfect score. They are skilled, so they might do a perfect album some time in the future, but it will not happen if they continue to put out albums like this one. Fortunately, they are a hell of a live band, and I am sure the fans will appreciate the songs from this album that will fit into their set list in their upcoming tour, and also in some before and after party in some shabby big city apartment, playing from a computer.

Songs worthy of recognition: Do You Wanna Rock, The Twisting Knife, She Ain't Coming Home

Rating: 7,5/10 Piranhas