Danish outfit, Broken Hand Charity have been kicking about since 2008 and have always done their own thing their own way. Currently in the middle of recruiting for a drummer and a bassist, the Danish alternative rock outfit have a unique approach, playing tracks which range from psyche to stoner to melodic and catchy. Without further ado, let’s see if this is a cause to support.
“Wöden” opens with a strange clean melody before a massive wall of sound smashes right through it. Heavy and thick with fuzz, hiding subtle melodic leads in its mass, the stoner-doom sound just engulfs all in its path. Thunderous bass, droning fuzz and rhythmically active riffs are tied together by a simple drum pattern whilst raw vocals reminiscent of Kyuss ring out. Hypnotic and heavy, this track thunders on with minimal fuss, laying out a tasty groove for you to enjoy. There’s a slick melodic progression near the final third which segues into the solo which is delivered with copious amounts of flair and style and it sets up the ending quite well, giving a real tight opening to this album.
“Grasp” has a real tight and twisting intro which follows a descending riff pattern which leads into a real powerful chugging groove. With a darker vocal edge to it oozing with power, it has a different kind of heaviness to it compared to the opening track. The melodic progressions add some depth to the thunderously bass heavy track but overall, with the raw and ballsy vocal delivery and that thundering low end, this is all about the riffing and groove.
From here, the album follows a similar trend. Copious amounts of groove, thundering low end, steady but pounding rhythm work and real fuzzy and loud guitars, capped by a very hook laden vocalist. Going from harsh roars to clean and powerful highs with minimal fuss or effort exerted, is a real solid recording when it comes to the impact of the tracks.
“Ostracized” has a real turbulent bass line, twisting and rumbling away with some real expressive leads spread out across it, whilst “The Norns” which follows has a more modern metal sounding intro which leans towards the ‘core’ end of the spectrum and eve the rhythm and pulse of the track feels that way.
“Left For Dead” rings out like some kind of strange hybrid of Clutch and BLS with the thundering chugs of the guitar, slick and subtle melodies and clever vocal delivery. On paper that kind of mix should not work, but on musical execution, it does. The same can be said for the subsequent tracks, it is all a hybrid of groove, chugging, heaviness and hook laden vocals. Sure, some things may change, like gang vocal use, tempo and melodic progression changes and more intricay in lead playing, as shown in the closing section of “Elixir” but those flashes of flair and a sense of something else are spread across the album and some are not even effective.
By the time it comes to a close in the dying seconds of “Manacle” with its hypnotic riff and vocal work, you have a feeling that it is simply an album which feels familiar, sounds familiar and doesn’t necessarily grab you in the way it should.
Overall, it’s not a bad album, it’s not a good album either. It’s not even average, it’s just what it is. Familiar feeling, slick lead work with some tasty blues licks, thundering bass and a steady groove and hook laden vocals, it just catches your attention from time to time, perfect for background listening but that’s pretty much it.
(5.5/10 Fraggle)
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