New stuff evokes what is known
and improves it whit what has been learned
After 4 years since their last album and more than 4 decades of career, these Jersey devils are back and in the best way. It can be said that time does not pass by its members, but that would also throw away everything they have learned and know how to perform on their 20th album, Scorched.
Listening to the album is a journey, full of references and glimpses to previous moments of the band and tributes to legends like Black Sabbath (Fever) or Ronnie James Dio (Won't Be Coming Back). It is an album easy to enjoy thanks to the variety it offers. We can't say it has little bits for everyone… It has a lot!
The title track opens us with a melodic riff, almost a solo, very Heavy Metal and something that we hadn't heard before in any other work by the band which later leads to this formula of groovy thrash that we've been delivered to since The Grinding Wheel and that is refined in many aspects. It's an excellent opener that manages to give a glimpse that, within all the new stuff awaiting for us, that core still burns with green and red flames.
The Surgeon is another sample of a curious mix between thrash and Rock & Roll vibes that won't take away your impulse to shake your skulls. Wicked Place is a march, just like that. A mid-paced swing takes you rocking back to a decadent chorus and a bridge that becomes a bone crusher. Insane malice and perhaps even a little solemness with its ending. These were the three songs chosen to promote their work, and although they are remarkable, fortunately they are far from being the best this record has to offer.
Twist of the Wick is without a doubt the first gem that shines above everything we've ever heard and it's the first track you're dying to hear again. It's got everything thrash demands as a tribute to be crowned an instant classic: an ominous intro, speed at its core, and that unique touch in the middle that makes you know who you're dealing with, it couldn't be anyone but. Overkill.
And, well, if the first gem was a display of speed and pure pounding, Fever is anything but the opposite. The speed is further decreased to drag you into a swamp full of sorcery and mystery, in which you can suffer from the mud on your feet that prevents you from moving freely. A door to hell has opened and it is located in the bayou where this song transports you in the purest Black Sabbath style. And as it couldn't be otherwise, Harder they Fall brings back to the equation this devilish speed as if you were in an almost derrailed roller coaster's car which tracks only go downhill underground. The most memorable chorus on the entire album and another track that goes straight to the pedestal of "must hear it live!".
Know Her Name deserves its own niche within the crowded altar that is the band's discography. Without exaggeration, it is a song in which all the elements of the group merge but manage to be protagonists on their own.
Bag O' Bones leans much more towards that Hard Rock side that will delight those who enjoyed I Hear Black or Immortalis. Directly, it invites you to shake that skeleton, even if you are “far from home, you will never be alone”. As a closing, it is a surprise, but you cannot blame them for deciding put it last.
Special mention to the intro of Won't Be Coming Back, which is clearly a tribute to Ronnie James Dio's Holy Driver and which will delight NWOBHM lovers. That verse riff will bring back that nostalgia for a time that many of us haven't lived though, but one you can hear especially on Feel the Fire. And since we only have to talk about Goin ’Home, we can just say that it's the student who makes his homework and arrives to class on time; his main riff is full of evil and Brittner's drums shine here in a unique way. It's curious to classify these songs as the low moments of the trip, mainly because they will be liked by many and that only speaks excepcionaly high of the album as a whole.
The production is glorious, Colin Richardson (who returns to collaborate with the band since Killbox 13, one of their best sound on a record) and Chris Clancy are responsibles for the mix, teaching how to bring that electrifying guitar tone from Wings of War in comunion with a massive (but not invasive) bass and a warmer drums that finally allow us to appreciate all what Jason Brittner is capable of in his second studio work with the band. Dave Linsk already has a repertoire of excellent solos and on this album he not only keeps his stamp of creativity and expressiveness, but even manages to surpass himself on several occasions.
Interestingly, there's an odd moment within The Surgeon during their first pre-chorus, where the mix goes a bit crazy (Might be some compression and EQ misstweaks to avoid double-kick overwhelming, perhaps?); something very unusual to hear in a production that manages to be as well cared for as this one and that, incredibly, is presented again at the beginning of the second section of Fever. It does not diminish anything and it is still an anecdotal fact, but it is clearly perceptible.
In conclusion, Scorched is a solid album, firmly based in roots that go further back than the band itself and that extend to the last second of the 51-minute recording, which feel "few" in comparison to what you experience. It is not a perfect album and although it is difficult to rank it in a specific position or to say that it exceeds everything done in more than 40 years of experience, it does manage to consolidate everything learned throughout a long and prolific career and that, without a doubt, surpasses Ironbound and The Electric Age as the most outstanding the band has achieved since The Years Of Decay or Horrorscope.
But, please, don't let this be a recommendation... it is an invitation!
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