Admiral Of Black
Four piece ‘wrecking crew’ Admiral of Black were good enough to sort me out with a copy of their album Blood and Fire to check out. Now there should be two things said before continuing. Firstly, these guys are from Chicago, and I love Chicago after visiting it a few years back. Secondly, these chaps sport some of the finest beards I’ve seen on a band, and as a fellow ‘urban camouflage’ sporter I can’t help but feel that this is going to be awesome! They’ve already had opening slots for Black Label Society and Black Stone Cherry, so why the hell aren’t they over here more?!
Gravewalker opens proceedings, dark and sludgy from the outset, the bass undertones of the track immediately take over and begin to shake you to your core. From there, pounding drums propel the track onwards, taking on a riff which will have every single person within ear shot wishing they could play the guitar. As the roaring vocals kick in the track takes form, a funky yet hard rocking combination of distorted guitars, eerie vocals and pounding drums. What is really striking about this track is just how simple the elements are yet how incredible they all sound once they’ve been combined. Anyone with any doubts needs only to check out this track and I promise you’ll be converted within seconds.
Dispatch follows on, opening with those same sludgy guitars but launching into a Zakk Wylde-esque section of riffs underpinned with solid drums. This track is a solid hard rock track, funky yet hard from the outset and unrelenting throughout. The vocals tell a story as the track progresses causing you to listen in closely to make sure you’re catching and appreciating every second of it. Chucking in a dual layered guitar solo for good measure this track contains every element you want to hear from a band like this, and they do it damned well as well. As the track fades and God’s Eye kicks in, the riff takes over once again transporting you into distorted guitar heaven. Sounding almost White Zombie-ish in the way the pumping riff is played, the vocals take on a different tone for this track and are almost cleaned up. The effect this has is to create a more vintage sound which adds a further something to the track, it’s hard to pinpoint it but it sounds almost like a band you know as you hear it, it’s awesome.
Throne follows on once again picking up the pace and powering onwards with a speedy riff backed by a solid beat. Crashing home with those raw vocals once again, this is a hard rock anthem waiting to be heard by the world! Fast paced and unrelenting up to the final second this track is bound to have live crowds moving, certainly something I aim to witness. Chugging guitars carry the track onwards with the vocals ranging between the raw and edgy approach and the cleaned up ones creating contrasts within contrasts, you need to hear this to understand it fully but believe me when I say it works. As the track finishes and leads into A Kinship Formed With Blood and Fire you’re greeted by eerie echoey sounds, the effect it had here was for me to turn the speakers up to make sure I caught everything. All of a sudden in comes the bass, pounding drums and an echoey lead line, all faded within the background to one another to create an ambient and haunting noise, this is one hell of a way to kick into the beginning of something! Soon the distorted guitars kick in alongside the mix, building up more growing ever bigger, ever more powerful, ever more epic. A solo echoes out across the already massive rhythm section creating a sense of bravery almost, you can imagine charging into war as this plays, then the riff kicks in properly. Sounding almost like Iron Maiden has gone to metal lessons in the way the guitar takes on the rolling properties of the drumming, this track is like an epic movie has been turned into a single track. The vocals roar over the music tuning your hearing into every little note change, every lead line, every pounding bass rhythm, the whole thing is massive. This track is simply awesome and has to be my favourite from the selection.
Final track Timeless is Gone seems almost small after the last track, but that only serves to make you listen harder. Opening with sludgy guitars building into another epic riff, this track finishes the album leaving you wanting more. Building in slowly with drums and guitars a sense of anticipation is created, you want to know what’s coming next. Finally, there it is, another rolling riff underpinned by complex lead lines and that awesome bass which has been so prominent in the mix throughout. Solid, chunky, raw yet incredibly well produced from the outset, these guys finish the album on a high and leave no doubt in your mind that what you’ve just heard hasn’t just been an album, it’s been an experience.
I used to love Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society until Zakk went all Ozzy in his singing. These guys sound like the old Zakk but (and dare I say it) better. Their music is raw and edgy, yet well produced throughout. They can play their instruments and craft songs which take you on a journey. Since downloading the album I’ve listened to it around 9 times on the computer and burned it onto a CD for the car. I am confident saying that these guys, if given the right exposure and opportunities, will be a massive hit at festivals across the world. I for one am looking forward to hearing more and know that when I do, again, I’ll be hooked.
To find out more about Admiral of Black, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Gravewalker opens proceedings, dark and sludgy from the outset, the bass undertones of the track immediately take over and begin to shake you to your core. From there, pounding drums propel the track onwards, taking on a riff which will have every single person within ear shot wishing they could play the guitar. As the roaring vocals kick in the track takes form, a funky yet hard rocking combination of distorted guitars, eerie vocals and pounding drums. What is really striking about this track is just how simple the elements are yet how incredible they all sound once they’ve been combined. Anyone with any doubts needs only to check out this track and I promise you’ll be converted within seconds.
Dispatch follows on, opening with those same sludgy guitars but launching into a Zakk Wylde-esque section of riffs underpinned with solid drums. This track is a solid hard rock track, funky yet hard from the outset and unrelenting throughout. The vocals tell a story as the track progresses causing you to listen in closely to make sure you’re catching and appreciating every second of it. Chucking in a dual layered guitar solo for good measure this track contains every element you want to hear from a band like this, and they do it damned well as well. As the track fades and God’s Eye kicks in, the riff takes over once again transporting you into distorted guitar heaven. Sounding almost White Zombie-ish in the way the pumping riff is played, the vocals take on a different tone for this track and are almost cleaned up. The effect this has is to create a more vintage sound which adds a further something to the track, it’s hard to pinpoint it but it sounds almost like a band you know as you hear it, it’s awesome.
Throne follows on once again picking up the pace and powering onwards with a speedy riff backed by a solid beat. Crashing home with those raw vocals once again, this is a hard rock anthem waiting to be heard by the world! Fast paced and unrelenting up to the final second this track is bound to have live crowds moving, certainly something I aim to witness. Chugging guitars carry the track onwards with the vocals ranging between the raw and edgy approach and the cleaned up ones creating contrasts within contrasts, you need to hear this to understand it fully but believe me when I say it works. As the track finishes and leads into A Kinship Formed With Blood and Fire you’re greeted by eerie echoey sounds, the effect it had here was for me to turn the speakers up to make sure I caught everything. All of a sudden in comes the bass, pounding drums and an echoey lead line, all faded within the background to one another to create an ambient and haunting noise, this is one hell of a way to kick into the beginning of something! Soon the distorted guitars kick in alongside the mix, building up more growing ever bigger, ever more powerful, ever more epic. A solo echoes out across the already massive rhythm section creating a sense of bravery almost, you can imagine charging into war as this plays, then the riff kicks in properly. Sounding almost like Iron Maiden has gone to metal lessons in the way the guitar takes on the rolling properties of the drumming, this track is like an epic movie has been turned into a single track. The vocals roar over the music tuning your hearing into every little note change, every lead line, every pounding bass rhythm, the whole thing is massive. This track is simply awesome and has to be my favourite from the selection.
Final track Timeless is Gone seems almost small after the last track, but that only serves to make you listen harder. Opening with sludgy guitars building into another epic riff, this track finishes the album leaving you wanting more. Building in slowly with drums and guitars a sense of anticipation is created, you want to know what’s coming next. Finally, there it is, another rolling riff underpinned by complex lead lines and that awesome bass which has been so prominent in the mix throughout. Solid, chunky, raw yet incredibly well produced from the outset, these guys finish the album on a high and leave no doubt in your mind that what you’ve just heard hasn’t just been an album, it’s been an experience.
I used to love Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society until Zakk went all Ozzy in his singing. These guys sound like the old Zakk but (and dare I say it) better. Their music is raw and edgy, yet well produced throughout. They can play their instruments and craft songs which take you on a journey. Since downloading the album I’ve listened to it around 9 times on the computer and burned it onto a CD for the car. I am confident saying that these guys, if given the right exposure and opportunities, will be a massive hit at festivals across the world. I for one am looking forward to hearing more and know that when I do, again, I’ll be hooked.
To find out more about Admiral of Black, check out their Facebook page HERE.