An album that will have you hitting the replay button…
Review by Tony Gaskin
Release date: 27 April 2015
The one thing that pleases me most about being tuned in and connected to the local unsigned scene is seeing a band progress from being a bunch of un-coordinated wannabes into a slick, motivated band with real aspirations. Left For Red have, with this debut album, shown that perseverance, hard work, unity and above all, dedication can turn discord into harmony. Building on the well received acclaim for their last ep LFR have continued to build a strong fan base and went into Monochrome Studios in Stratford knowing that expectations amongst their fans was high.
Previous EP releases saw the band trying to pin down their own identity and with All Things Known And Buried, they’ve gone a long way to achieving that. There are still obvious influences but in the world of metal it’s hard to detach yourself from any given reference, but you can now recognise a LFR track when you hear it, mainly down to LC Decoy’s distinctive vocal style.
So after a short intro chant we dive into track 1, ‘Master Of The Game’, which is the first single to come from the album. Wisely chosen as the opening track and lead single, this song combines great lyrics with Decoy’s snarls and sneers, whilst backed up by the dual axe riffage of Messrs Foy and Smith and all the time the groove-laden rhythm section of Dan Carter on bass and Rob Hadley on the skins finish off the complete ensemble.
There’s loads more where that came from though, heavy monster tracks like ‘Reborn’ and ‘Ascension’ are going to be live favourites for a long time to come, a real mix of southern rock grooves and old school NWOBHM riffs. But confirming their continued development and maturity has a band, we get songs like ‘Shatter’ which show a more darker Doom/psychedelic side to the band.
And just when you think you’re getting a handle on where this band are coming from you get tripped up by the short piano instrumental that leads into the anthemic ‘Utopia’ that is fast and angry, probably my favourite track on the album, which pummels your senses into oblivion so much so that final track ‘Solace in Memories’ sneaks up on you with its slow burning genteel start, building into an epic final crescendo of intenseness that will have you hitting the replay button once more.
8 out of 10
Track Listing:
- Intro – Masters Call
- Master Of The Game
- Crooked Path
- Reborn
- Echo Of Strangers
- Shatter
- Ascension
- Dystopia Rising
- Utopia
- Solace In Memories
