Ave Noctum is a site that very much dwells amongst the denizens of the underground scene, revelling in the music that flies below the radar of much of the metal media, let alone the mainstream, with submissions for review from small but dedicated labels, or often, those who release their own work. Having a label contract is no benchmark of excellence, as any brief foray into the often indistinguishable drone of the top 40 will attest; in fact it can be the very reverse. A prime example of this is the fantastic ‘Another Dimension’ by power trio Solar Sons.
Now I didn’t use the word “fantastic” just to heap praise on the band, but that will be coming, but also to describe the composition of the album, an hour long concept work steeped in the tradition of classic Sci-fi where an immortal robot travels the universe in an attempt to save a dying mankind. Heavy stuff indeed, and by now lovers of all things Prog and Prog-Metal should be champing at the bit. ‘Alien Hunter’ starts the interstellar journey in a fine headbanging style, with each of the three members of the band firing on all cylinders. It even features that rarest of beasts, an enjoyable bass solo, care of frontman Rory Lee, matched lick for lick by brother and six string slinger Danny, Pete Garrow powering it along from behind the drums. As a taste of what’s to come, you could rarely ask for a better introduction. ‘Automaton’ follows, equal parts Queensrÿche’s ‘Mindcrime’ and Asimov’s ‘Bicentennial Man’, the mechanical beats matching the march of the titular machine. This cybernetic sound is contrasted by the opening of follower ‘You Won’t Go Alone’ with its gentle idyll, the soothing flow of the music lulling the listener into a false sense of quiet that builds up layer after layer into something altogether heavier and more dystopian.
Normally I’d write up each song, but given that I’ve only just got to track three of nine, I’ll have to do some self editing, as I don’t want anybody to be put off from buying this album by the size and weight of the review. I can be a verbose sod at times, and I wonder at the skill the editor of Ave Noctum displays in having sometimes a mere fifty words or less to encapsulate an album in some publications. So, a quick dose of highlights it is: ‘Quicksilver’ has an incendiary guitar solo that will have fans of the instrument wondering at the pyrotechnics on display; ‘Revenant Pt.2′ tells a story that could equally be lifted from ’28 Days Later’, or even the daily briefings of ‘Chris Whitty’ from a short while ago; whilst ‘The Voyage’ throws some Hawkwindesque Space-Rock into the melange of the album. Just in case things were now getting, like too deep man, ‘Hell, Fire, Fury’ slaps the listener in the face with a heavy metal custard pie, gang vocals demanding that beers are raised and the party remains hearty. The level of Prog is turned up high with ‘Until I Wake’, the opening bassline sounding like something Roger Waters had planned for Pink Floyd before he left the band, and the album being rounded out by the massive and apocalyptic sweep of ‘Deep Inside The Mountain’.
Now approaching a decade of crafting music, Solar Sons are celebrating with the release of what is their most ambitious and technically wide ranging album, ‘Another Dimension’. That they have now produced five such albums off their own backs, without label support, and each being better than the last, is a testament to the abilities of these three musicians. The fact that a family can produce such a pool of skill in a single generation is remarkable, and it is almost a shame that this confluence of genetic talent didn’t happen a few decades ago as they’d likely now be talked of in the sort of hallowed tones reserved for the likes of Rush. Buy the music, buy the merch, get to the shows, and keep the underground going.
(9/10 Spenny)
https://www.facebook.com/solarsonsofficial
https://solarsonsofficial.bandcamp.com/album/another-dimension
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