Hot on the smoking heels of last year’s “By The Corner Of Tomorrow”, Band Of Spice have wasted no time in serving up another whopping slice of Classic Doom/Stoner/Psyche-tinged Hard Rock/Metal in time-honoured Spice tradition. Guitarist/Vocalist Spice is of course remembered for his captivating vocals on the first four Spiritual Beggars albums, culminating in the excellent “Ad Astra” in 2000. After that he released two damn fine albums with the equally enjoyable Mushroom River Band, before going all retro-rock with Spice and the RJ Band. Then, most recently in 2010 brought us the debut from Band Of Spice. With a stable 3 piece line-up since then (incidentally, all three are also in Thrash band My Regime), this is now their fifth album to date.

Heavy riffs and grooves are the order of the day as the album kicks off in classic Spice-style with ‘Gone Insane’, as anyone who as heard the band before will know to expect. As the first four songs batter their way out of the speakers, this feels like the band have taken the heavier approach of its predecessor and ramped it up another notch. Yes, there’s plenty of 70’s psyche nods of course, but on the whole the vibe of the first part of this album seems to be much nearer to Mushroom River Band and even has a little in common with the aggressive energy on Beggars “Ad Astra”. However, this is not by any means a single-minded release, and the second half of the album gets altogether more varied. Like for instance the Thrashy-groove parts of ‘Control’, which seems new for BoS, and strikes a great balance alongside the early Sabbath Doom of ‘Descending’ as well as the fast and furious Motorhead-ness of ‘Offside’. Next up we get a riffy little instrumental, followed quickly by an almost NWOBHM style album closer in the shape of ‘A Song For You’.

And then it’s all over. “How We Play The Game” has a running time of just under 40 minutes which maybe adds to the feeling that it’s all a bit of whirlwind and finished quite quickly, but this is perfect vinyl length and therefore fits well with the band’s retro mindset. It’s is an album that will have quite a wide appeal, encouraging new fans as well as people like myself who’ve been following Spice’s illustrious career for years and it also shows signs that the band are keen to push forward and not stagnate. It’s always great to hear Spice really going for it vocally and besides, I rather like this more angst-ridden incarnation of Band of Spice.

(8/10 Andy Barker)

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https://scarletrecords.bandcamp.com/album/how-we-play-the-game