Right from the off, there’s no denying that this is an album oozing classic Southern Hard Rock, a style so rooted in American Rock history that only a band from Nashville or Texas or a select number of other dusty sun-drenched cactus-ridden one-horse towns could hope to pull off this well. Granted, I wasn’t sure how many cacti are in evidence in the wastelands just outside Warsaw in Poland, but I’m sure there’s plenty of sour mash whisky around and no doubt the sun gets out from time to time, so I guess inspiration can be anywhere you look for it. Polish Leash Eye may be, and describe themselves as Hard Truckin’ Rock, but hot diggity, they sure as hell sound Deep Southern American to me…dagnabbit…darn tootin’ etc, etc…
Leash Eye started off on the Grungy side many years ago, but after the millennium things took a welcome turn towards the South and this, their fifth album (I think) is back in that saddle once more. Being as I’m writing this review in the iron-clad Metal pages of Ave Noctum, we should maybe explore the band’s heavier side first – Zakk Wylde springs to mind (maybe his solo stuff or Pride and Glory, slightly more than Black Label Society), and there’s a touch of Fireball Ministry here and there, but really we are deep in Raging Slab and Black Stone Cherry territory for a healthy portion of the album, a style that suits the band’s sound perfectly, and one they revel in. There’s even a bit of a Guns n’ Roses tribute in the form of ‘Where the Grass is Green and the Girls are Pretty’, with all sorts of G’n’R lyrical references to look out for.
The vocals leap effortlessly between the gravel-drenched and Southern drawl expertly when each song dictates it, evoking an air of The Dead Daisies first two albums at times, backed up by the fact that there are plenty of chunky, groovy riffs scattered around every song. There’s maybe not the wealth of lead guitar solos you might expect from an album in this vein (though there’s a cool section in ‘Some Kind Of Rookie’), but instead there is a notable extra dimension and Skynyrd nod with the addition of excellent organ/keyboard work, which makes the band stand out even further. The dashes of female backing vocals are a great authentic touch too. The up-tempo hard-rocking duo of ‘Step On It’ and ‘F.D.T.D.’ really pick up the pace late on in proceedings and as I pressed Play once more I realised how little I actually get to hear this style of whisky-soaked Hard Rawk nowadays, and when it’s done this well, I’m left wondering why. So, Y’all line up yer finest moonshine and…well… Na Zdrowie!
(8/10 Andy Barker)
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