Widows
Formed in 2008, Nottingham based Widows are out to play music you can raise a beer and swing a fist to – which sounds pretty good to me! Having just released their first full length album, Death Valley Duchess, through Bad News Records, these guys are setting out to get their music out there, get known and turn the world onto the irrepressible style of hard stoner rock – so what of the music?
Opening with Green Tsunami there’s immediately a display of what the band are all about, launching straight into a hard hitting melee of hammering guitar lines, powerful vocal lines and a rhythm section which is going to shake your rib cage out of your chest. Striking throughout is the guitar work, it doesn’t simply settle for a heavy riff to keep things going, instead offering up intricate lines which will bring out the air guitarist in you and have you strutting around the room like a nutter – it’s a funky mix which is sure to get people moving. Goat Lab follows much the same sort of recipe, opening hard and throwing down into a sound which is impossible to resist. The hard hitting guitar lines continue to flow out throughout the track which, when coupled with the heavy vocal line is enough to convert anyone to the ways of Widow. Personally, this track stands out to me as a serious highpoint, showing what the band are capable of and suggesting that this is going to be one to make sure you check out on the live scene if you get a chance!
Fuck-Knuckle continues the live theme, once again launching straight into a pounding mix of heaviness and not releasing you until the moment the track comes to a close. There’s once again a serious degree of funky power flowing throughout the track, showing that this is another one which is going to get people moving and shifting along with the band. With a sound like this it’s crucial to balance the different elements of the band, and they seem to have done it with aplomb throughout, never letting one element outdo another or allowing things to sound fuzzy. Truckules seems to mark a slight change on the outlook of the album, this time slowing things down to form a sludgy track which accentuates further the sheer heaviness of these guys. Powerful and toned down throughout, this is a track which moves away from the heavy and fast approach, instead opting to build up at first before fully unleashing their power. Something about this track stood out to me as the sort of thing that would be at home on a festival stage, it’s just got that sound which works with sunny weather and beer!
Kiss Of Failure returns us to the hard hitting approach of earlier tracks, once again opting for intricate guitar lines but this time keeping the beat slow to make sure you absorb every single note coming from the band. If you’re looking for a track from a band which epitomises the sound of modern hard rock then you need look no further than this track, it’s like an A-Z of how to write an anthem for the hard rock circuit – one of my personal favourites from the album. The Whores OF Babylon soon takes us back to the fast paced and heavy approach which made the earlier tracks stand out so much, once again resuming a pace which is sure to get people drinking beer, throwing some fists in the air and moving along to the sound of the band. The drumming on this track steals the show when you listen to it, roving between fast and slow seamlessly and all the time matching the intricacies of the guitar work. Couple that with contrasted vocals and this is another serious highpoint on the album, and a track which I would seriously advise you to check out.
Something For Deities comes up next and shows off the bands more stoner rock tendencies, this time throwing us into a track which, at first comes off as disjointed, but soon assumes its natural place on the album. What I really like about this track is the power of the track as a whole, it’s another one which you can well imagine being played on a festival stage and managing to capture the attention of everyone present. As Parentheses comes in to take the lead there seems to be a seamless transition between tracks, almost flowing from one into the other and still keeping everything firmly dialled up to 11 on the amp. This is another live anthem in the waiting, the guitar and bass combo working over the drums to combine with the vocal notes and resulting in a track which is going to be impossible to resist, another of my personal favourites.
Closing with title track Death Valley Duchess, there’s one last display of their abilities from the band, crafting one final track which seems to showcase what it is they can do. Opening with spoken word as the music seems to build around it, there’s a darker edge to this track as it grows in your ears, almost showing off a heavier tendency and making you question whether this is the end or merely the beginning of the next chapter for the band. It’s a brave move finishing with a spoken word track, but something about it works, almost as if it’s one final moment of story telling to make you remember the band – and it seems to work!
Wiidows have taken a sound which we all know and understand here and firmly transformed it into their own. Combining the key elements of stoner rock with hard rock and straight down the middle rock music, you’re left with a 9 track album which takes you on a journey from start to finish. At no point does the music become boring or repetitive, instead throwing new surprises at you time after time so that you’re always kept guessing as to what’s going to come up next. In my opinion, this is a great album – I can’t wait to see how they manage to follow it!
To find out more about Widows, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
Opening with Green Tsunami there’s immediately a display of what the band are all about, launching straight into a hard hitting melee of hammering guitar lines, powerful vocal lines and a rhythm section which is going to shake your rib cage out of your chest. Striking throughout is the guitar work, it doesn’t simply settle for a heavy riff to keep things going, instead offering up intricate lines which will bring out the air guitarist in you and have you strutting around the room like a nutter – it’s a funky mix which is sure to get people moving. Goat Lab follows much the same sort of recipe, opening hard and throwing down into a sound which is impossible to resist. The hard hitting guitar lines continue to flow out throughout the track which, when coupled with the heavy vocal line is enough to convert anyone to the ways of Widow. Personally, this track stands out to me as a serious highpoint, showing what the band are capable of and suggesting that this is going to be one to make sure you check out on the live scene if you get a chance!
Fuck-Knuckle continues the live theme, once again launching straight into a pounding mix of heaviness and not releasing you until the moment the track comes to a close. There’s once again a serious degree of funky power flowing throughout the track, showing that this is another one which is going to get people moving and shifting along with the band. With a sound like this it’s crucial to balance the different elements of the band, and they seem to have done it with aplomb throughout, never letting one element outdo another or allowing things to sound fuzzy. Truckules seems to mark a slight change on the outlook of the album, this time slowing things down to form a sludgy track which accentuates further the sheer heaviness of these guys. Powerful and toned down throughout, this is a track which moves away from the heavy and fast approach, instead opting to build up at first before fully unleashing their power. Something about this track stood out to me as the sort of thing that would be at home on a festival stage, it’s just got that sound which works with sunny weather and beer!
Kiss Of Failure returns us to the hard hitting approach of earlier tracks, once again opting for intricate guitar lines but this time keeping the beat slow to make sure you absorb every single note coming from the band. If you’re looking for a track from a band which epitomises the sound of modern hard rock then you need look no further than this track, it’s like an A-Z of how to write an anthem for the hard rock circuit – one of my personal favourites from the album. The Whores OF Babylon soon takes us back to the fast paced and heavy approach which made the earlier tracks stand out so much, once again resuming a pace which is sure to get people drinking beer, throwing some fists in the air and moving along to the sound of the band. The drumming on this track steals the show when you listen to it, roving between fast and slow seamlessly and all the time matching the intricacies of the guitar work. Couple that with contrasted vocals and this is another serious highpoint on the album, and a track which I would seriously advise you to check out.
Something For Deities comes up next and shows off the bands more stoner rock tendencies, this time throwing us into a track which, at first comes off as disjointed, but soon assumes its natural place on the album. What I really like about this track is the power of the track as a whole, it’s another one which you can well imagine being played on a festival stage and managing to capture the attention of everyone present. As Parentheses comes in to take the lead there seems to be a seamless transition between tracks, almost flowing from one into the other and still keeping everything firmly dialled up to 11 on the amp. This is another live anthem in the waiting, the guitar and bass combo working over the drums to combine with the vocal notes and resulting in a track which is going to be impossible to resist, another of my personal favourites.
Closing with title track Death Valley Duchess, there’s one last display of their abilities from the band, crafting one final track which seems to showcase what it is they can do. Opening with spoken word as the music seems to build around it, there’s a darker edge to this track as it grows in your ears, almost showing off a heavier tendency and making you question whether this is the end or merely the beginning of the next chapter for the band. It’s a brave move finishing with a spoken word track, but something about it works, almost as if it’s one final moment of story telling to make you remember the band – and it seems to work!
Wiidows have taken a sound which we all know and understand here and firmly transformed it into their own. Combining the key elements of stoner rock with hard rock and straight down the middle rock music, you’re left with a 9 track album which takes you on a journey from start to finish. At no point does the music become boring or repetitive, instead throwing new surprises at you time after time so that you’re always kept guessing as to what’s going to come up next. In my opinion, this is a great album – I can’t wait to see how they manage to follow it!
To find out more about Widows, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls