aaamusic | On 11, Mar 2012

Any recent band touting a “classic rock” sound in this day and age invariably will sound at first a little odd. There’s something simultaneously timeless and dated about sounding a little bit like Led Zeppelin, and after bands like Guns N Roses and Stone Temple Pilots have left their fingerprints all over the sound, sometimes it can feel like bands are just going through the motions. Thankfully, Servants Of The Gun are not one of those bands. Taking pages from the masters, as well as throwing themselves into the world of contemporaries such as Heaven’s Basement and Voodoo Six, their latest release, ‘Angels & Axemen’ sends waves of heated passion from even the most boring hi-fis.

 

Tracks like ‘Rumour’ and ‘Each Chemical In Love’ display a strong allegiance to the 80s rock/metal scene in the vein of Hanoi Rocks, as well as the aforementioned Led Zeppelin and a twist of 90s alt-rock, especially in the latter. Hard rock riffs abound, threatening to burst into heavy metal at any point, with ‘Rumours’ being reminiscent of the recent Scandinavian glam metal given a heavier sound and a darker, more thoughtful twist. In fact, on ‘Satellite’, the band burst into a groove so heavy and so searing, I had to double-check to make sure I hadn’t got a song from another band mixed up in the playlist. The bass booms  and thunders as the guitar riff swaggers like an offcut of my heavy metal favourites Voodoo Six, with Pantera-meets-Def Leppard attitude. Musically, this behemoth is an unexpected highlight in its rhythmic tightness and blistering riff as well as some fantastic vocals and a catchy chorus melody to boot. Servants Of The Gun also have a sleazier, punkier side a la Heaven’s Basement that shines through in the snappy three-minute length of many of their songs and the three-chord-wonder backbone of the raucous and catchy ‘Hellbent’.

Elsewhere, Servants Of The Gun show a great head for a pop hook wrapped in bassy distortion and immense rock power. ‘Carnival’ has Queen influence pouring from its high-octane riffs, all turbo-boosted by an energy that I imagine translates excellently in live performances. This pop song in leather and shades translates equally well into some solid power ballads. Perhaps ‘King Daddy’ drags musically simply because I feel I’ve heard it before, but ‘Devil May Cry’ has a majestic dark power-ballad pleasure in its no-holds-barred chorus and incredible impact. The guitars sound like any stadium metal you could hope to name, with perfectly matched riffs and solos, and the clear yet snarling vocals lift the lyrics into an impossible-to-resist fists in air singalong. The drums are unleashed in full sonic power, and the lead guitar and vocals race to steal the limelight in the most exciting way possible.  And album closer ‘Grimm Old Days’, while the vocals get a little too bluesy for the pop-veneered hard rock sound at times, is a truly impressive example of how to end an album on a slow(er) song, being both memorable and what can only be described as full of unashamed rock bombast.

 

With their roots set in the rock n roll excess of 80s metal and pop from across the decades, all given a solid foundation in alt-rock, there’s little truly groundbreaking in ‘Angels & Axemen’, but that said there’s something about it that speaks of a relentless passion and some incredibly talented musicians. If you feel that Whitesnake are a necessity akin to oxygen or water, or if you fell in love with Rival Sons’ ‘Pressure And Time’ last year, of you just love a massive fuckoff riff jumping about in your face with no shame to speak of and all the sheer enjoyment that rock n roll should have.

 

Katie H-Halinski