Wednesday, 5 June 2013

Screaming Eagles "From The Flames"

Ireland has been the home of a few legends in rock music. In particular it was the birth country of the late hard rock turned blues guitar legend Gary Moore as well as the pride and joy or Dublin himself, the late great Phil Lynott, main man of hard rock giants Thin Lizzy. Even though it has been a while since these two men graced us with their songs, it has made the country of Ireland a very credible location to breed great rock talent.

That is where Screaming Eagles come in. There is this movement of “full throttle” rock bands all over North America with bands such as OneDay Late and Step Echo; bands that involve the re-birth of the sound of classic rock music for the sake of trying and hopefully succeeding to make such a sound mainstream again. Screaming Eagles are among these bands and the first band, which I’ve heard of anyway, that do not reside in this continent. This shows the worldwide attention that classic rock music has influenced throughout its illustrious history and these bands are doing a more than well job keeping it alive.

Screaming Eagles have released an album, From The Flames, filled with such “full throttle” hard rock that could only be expected, but with their own cool groove. Right from the get go, with the track All The Way, we get to hear what the band is all about. The song starts off with an Adrian McAleenan guitar riff with a tone that sounds uncomfortable like AC/DC, except Adrian plays more than just three chords (yes that was a shot toward AC/DC). Vocalist Chris Fry belts out his unique voice that sounds somewhat like what Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes would sound like if he sang for a heavier band. This makes for a unique style for the album, giving it a mixture of late 70’s hard rock and 90’s alternative.

This same groove and style is pretty much the main sound heard throughout the rest of the album. All The Way’s following tracks Down The River and Hungry For More, all have a mid-paced hard hitting tempo, as well as later tracks One Man Revolution and Blood.

 The albums forth track Fight The Fire slows things up just slightly, but concentrates a little more on melodic elements as opposed to just making a hard hitting song, which makes for a welcome change. The band revisits this structure on the appropriately soulful Rock N Roll Soul.

The album continues to change things up ever so slightly, with songs like Vampire, which starts off with a low bluesy boogie that turns in to a hard hitting boogie rock song, unlike anything most bands are capable of recording nowadays.

The album ends with the track Take My Time. This song, just like the rest of the album, is carried by a nice badass riff and a good groove thanks to the drumming of Kyle Cruikshank. It sums up a true hard rock album that stays true to form all the way through.

From The Flames has every bit of what a good hard rock album needs; great riffs, no bullshit attitude, a singer with balls and a demeanour that only a hard rock band can have, one that doesn’t have a name but you know it to hear it. Though the album doesn’t stray away from the familiar formula that can be heard on most of the tracks, it is obvious that Screaming Eagles know what it takes to make good music and show that they do have an awesome future ahead of them.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHT

Devil In the Dust” –­ On an album filled with songs that concentrate more on how hard they can hit you, this track mixes that  hard rock drive with a fantastic melodic element like no other song on the album. The heavy metal-like riff that starts the song already gives listeners an idea that this isn’t a typical track. The rhythms heard throughout the song should be put on display for every band looking to make a good rock song; the guitars just don’t quit, even during the guitar solo, where you really do notice the rhythm guitars playing in the background that make the lead guitar playing all the more effective.

 

FINAL RATING

7 (Out of 10)

 

Track List:

1.
"All The Way"  
4:16
2.
"Down The River"  
4:11
3.
"Hungry For More"  
4:11
4.
"Fight The Fire"  
3:57
5.
"Vampire"  
4:11
6.
"Devil In The Dust”
4:45
7.
"Rock N Roll Soul"  
3:51
8.
"One Man Revolution"  
4:27
9.
"Blood
4:28
10.
"Take My Time"  
3:47

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