Audrey Horne – Pure Heavy

Clever hooks, catchy melodies, memorable choruses – what’s there not to like?

Review by Raymond Westland

Napalm Records

Release date: 26 September 2014

Although guitarist Ice Dale is a member of Norwegian post-black metal formation Enslaved his real passion is with pure rock and heavy metal from the seventies and eighties. Audrey Horne is his main musical vehicle to let the good times roll. Hot on the trail of last year’s Youngblood, Ice Dale and his partners in rock ‘n’ roll are back with a brand new album, entitled Pure Heavy.

The band’s last album saw them shifting their more post-grunge influenced sound which dominated the first three Audrey Horne records for a more classic rock type of approach. Say, less Alice In Chains, Faith No More and A Perfect Circle and more Iron Maiden, Van Halen and Thin Lizzy. Not everyone could appreciate this move, but it served Ice Dale and co. well on Youngblood and the good news is that Pure Heavy continues in very much the same vein.

Just from the opening rounds of ‘Wolf In My Heart’ to the dying seconds of ‘Boy Wonderer’ this album is full to the brim with extremely well-written songs which can be best described as a well-intended celebration of seventies and eighties hard rock and heavy metal. All tracks have this anthem-like quality to them with all the clever hooks, catchy melodies and memorable choruses one could wish for.

Of course, ‘Into The Wild’ has 80’s VanHalen and Shout At The Devil-era Motley Crue written all over it, ‘Holly Roller’ is pure Iron Maiden worship and ‘Tales From The Crypt’ screams Thin Lizzy, but that’s not the point with this album. Pure Heavy is delivered with such conviction and swagger that it gives pretty much every retro rock release of this year a run for their money, bar Great Western Valkyrie by Rival Sons.

If you’re looking for a memorable let-the-good-times-roll type of rock n’ roll record, then Pure Heavy by Audrey Horne is the album to go for. Great tunes, tons of energy, what’s there not to like?

Audrey Horne – Pure Heavy8 out of 10

Track Listing:

  1. Wolf In My Heart
  2. Holy Roller
  3. Out Of The City
  4. Volcano Girl
  5. Tales From The Crypt
  6. Diamond
  7. Into The Wild
  8. Gravity
  9. High And Dry
  10. Waiting For The Night
  11. Boy Wonderer

 

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