It’s always good to have a new band cross your path, and the arrival of a hand written CD-R does give a little frisson of nostalgia, almost taking me back to the days when music was swapped via the media of tapes (before they became the hipper than hip medium of the underground kvlt) rather than download links, and that this debut release from Rugby based four piece Wounded Cross arrived that way definitely earns points. Reminiscing aside, onto the music that makes up ‘Bonecrusher’.
Whilst the band bill themselves as a “traditional doom/traditional metal” band, there is no hint of doom in the opener ‘Biocentrism’, the opening riff being pretty pure 80’s NWOBHM, and by the time the booming bass fires in with drums that fire out a few unnecessarily complex kicks it’s all too easy to imagine the band clad in denim, spandex, and a few too many studded leather wristbands, a sound that chugs its way through the whole track, from galloping bass to basketball boot on the monitor guitar solo.
‘Bonecrusher’ follows in the same vein with a heavy bass intro, guitar noodling, and mullet nodding beats; I’m sure I’m not the only person who reckons the title could be from an early Saxon offering. Closing the EP is ‘Ashes’, a song that combines a touch of Marillionesque prog with a power metal ballad, the “power” definitely having a lower case “p” as it meanders through without any real surprises.
I hate to be negative about any band that is so clearly enthusiastic about their music, so much better that I could ever hope to be at playing, and have the courage to play live and record, but the EP so often sounds like it is an unready demo that needed a bit more practise before laying down, and a bit more polish in the recording. I’m no fan of the over engineered number, but this sadly had the sound of the first live play through rather than the finished article. Kudos to Wounded Cross for putting themselves and their sound out into the world, and no doubt were they playing in a pub I found myself in, I’d happily buy a round for all concerned and nod away; here’s hoping their next release gels a bit more.
(5.5/10 Spenny)
www.blackeneddeath.com/wounded-cross.html
https://www.facebook.com/WoundedCross
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