Godsticks – Faced With Rage
2nd November 2017 1 By Gavin GriffithsHistorically, Wales has always been a musical nation, be it the voices of the valleys’ village choirs (Not to mention Sir Tom Jones) all the way up to the abundance of quality alternative rock bands that have emerged in the last two decades; bands like STEREOPHONICS and BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE who have gone on to fill arenaās around the world (There must be something in the Brecon Carreg) but one thing Wales isnāt particularly famous for, is prog rock. Sure there are prog acts that have spawned in the dragon’s den, acts like MAN and MAGENTAā¦but these arenāt names that roll off the tongue when you think of progā¦but one band hoping to step up and change that perception is GODSTICKSā¦formed in Cardiff, the four-piece (consisting of Darran Charles, Dan Nelson, Gavin Bushell and Tom Price) have recently released their newest album āFaced With Rageā via KScope Recordsā¦looking to explore a heavier sound incorporating industrial elementsā¦industrial meets prog you say? Let’s check it out…
With the promise of some industrial inspired pummeling, we open up with āGuiltā and damn right they should feel bloody guilty, as all we have instead is instant southern groove metal inspired prog-rockā¦there are some decent riffs here and they hit you from the word go, but this soon descends into droning misery and the industrial qualities they, well, they donāt exist…maybe if youāre scraping the barrel you could note some of the percussion but thatās at a pushā¦this is a disappointing introduction. Similarly this can be said of āHard To Faceā tooā¦itās got some sleek guitar layered within itās six-minute-plus run time but really itās aimed more at fans of classic experimental prog rock as oppose to anything industrial and youāre left wanting.
āWe Are Leavingā opts for a far more ambient offering and weāre given a soothing yet sullen dose of melancholiaā¦though while this is quite possibly as far from the expectation here as you can get, itās forgiven as itās a genuinely lovely little track it has to be said; the guitar solo here is really emotive and weāre given a surprising album highlight. Speaking of highlightās, āRevereā deserves mentioning with its sheer groove, thereās a good hook used here and musically this track is simply catchy, an enjoyable listen here, credit where itās due. Sadly however, these moments are few and far betweenā¦āAngry Concernā has itās intense guitar sequences but itās too unreliably sporadicā¦the parts that maintain your interest throughout this record never seem to last, before we close up on āFame And Silenceāā¦which effectively crawls across the finish line with itās boring and quite frankly lifeless tone. Faced with rage? I donāt know about that, but frustration? Thereās frustration aplentyā¦as honestly I feel misled here. Marketed with an industrial influence, I was hoping for an intensity, a deep mechanical mauling of aggressive metalā¦but there was none to be foundā¦this is like asking for a Nintendo Switch for Christmas and getting a Tamagotchiā¦and itās just taken a shit.
Score: 5 / 10
Track List:
- 1] “Guilt”
- 2] “Hard To Face”
- 3] “Open Your Eyes”
- 4] “We Are Leaving”
- 5] “Angry Concern”
- 6] “Avenge”
- 7] “Revere”
- 8] “Unforgivable”
- 9] “Everdrive”
- 10] “Fame And Silence”
Record Label: KScope Records
Release Date: October 13th
Godsticks Online:Ā https://www.facebook.com/godsticks/
To purchase the album click HERE
About the author
Gavin Griffiths AKA GavTheGothicChav 31 Based In South Wales Favourite Bands: HIM, The 69 Eyes, Paradise Lost, CKY, Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, Type-O-Negative, Turbonegro, Depeche Mode... Enjoys: Pizza, Jack Daniel's, Comedy Roasts, WWE, Horror Movies, Sloths, Panda's, Eurovision Dislikes: The Concept Of Being "Offended", Hype, Instrumental Tracks, Interludes, Overly Long Tracks
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