THE BASTARD SONS – Release The Hounds
aaamusic | On 24, Apr 2015
York-based five-piece, The Bastard Sons, have a knack for writing a catchy track. If you aren’t nodding along after 15 seconds, you won’t, because ‘Release the Hounds’ is much the same throughout; sing along (well, mumble, maybe) vocal hooks, riffs to bash out on your air guitar and a rhythm track to aggressively nod or tap your foot to.
Think heavily distorted blues, with a shouty man, fat bass lines and heavy drums. A bit like Cancer Bats, but less visceral. There could be a Pantera influence in there, and some Black Sabbath, too. There’s a guitar solo with wah, which is very satisfying, because I find it hard to pull off without sounding clichéd. If I had to criticise, I would say that the song is incredibly repetitive, so might make some people turn it off before it’s over. However, it’s such a good riff I really don’t mind.
Groove is a word I would heavily associate with The Bastard Sons. In fact, going off this song, they deserve to have a band photo next to it in the dictionary. Currently working on their debut album, you should expect big things from this quintet.
