Formed in 2015, Bossnova is a Boston-based hard rock quartet with members having a mix of musical backgrounds. Think of heavier Seattle grunge mixed in with some '80s metal, for instance, Black Sabbath and Alice in Chains. Melodic and progressive at times, heavy and groovy at others, the band’s album Blues for the New Eon, offers a big sound. Many of the songs had been written for years and were uploaded to YouTube this September with the current group lineup. The band recorded bass and drums for all nine songs in one 12-hour session at Q Division Studios in Somerville, Massachusetts. The guitars were done at Ronan Recordings, with the vocals finishing up at Q Division. The album was originally supposed to be a five-track EP, but instead turned out to be full-length. Almost a year from tracking to a mastered product, the group calls it “a passion project.”
The opener “Kiss of Death” sounds spot on as if Alice in Chains updated their format from old school ‘90s grunge and sludge to something more polished – but don’t get me wrong, Alice in Chains is one hell of a band. But what Bossnova does here is dead on tight, and their sound is so well produced, make no mistake. The drummer, Joe Cook, really knows his fills well on the skins, too. “Reloaded” gets a little grittier in style, even a little sleazy like late ‘70s Van Halen, but it’s not any less worthy to turn up loud, as I imagine the rest of the album will be. Again, insane drum fills! Also, the guitar licks by Tim Dubuc, killer bass lines by Dave Markunas and stellar vocals by John George all sound like one solid machine of rock. Great stuff so far. “Fill the Void” definitely has a darker, goth metal style to it with loads of thundering drums, shadowy and sinister vocals and tasty, minor chords. John George sounds very like Lane Staley on this one. What else can I say? – but listen. “Shadows” features some bending guitar chords and plenty of crunchy metal style throughout. The rhythm is somewhat slower, and here again, George is channeling Staley almost to a tee, that I swear sometimes I’m hearing the front man being resurrected from the grave. The lyrics get really, really dark on this tune and for those who like scream singing, this one’s for you. Next is “Medicine God” which has a very unique beginning to it, something I can only describe as “earthy” and other worldly. This one felt to me truer to the memory of early grunge of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Next is “Thalassophile” which I’m still trying to find the definition for, but think it has something to do with the ocean, is one of the few songs on the album that’s written like a ballad. The clean, echoing guitar tones was a welcome change from the distortion… that’s until the band switches into distortion mode again and kicks up the tempo a bit. Overall, this one had the structure of a progressive metal song. “Drive” feels and sounds like a late ‘80s rock metal song that emerged from the overblown, fluffy hair band crap – think heavy Mötley Crüe, Guns ‘N Roses Appetite for Destruction and early Soundgarden. “Against the Wall” speeds things up quite a bit with classic cutting guitar riffs and very suggestive lyrics. “Traccia Nova” was a head trip – a disturbingly short and dark narration about a “nice” gentleman flower shop owner, cannibalism and a place called, “Mr. Gilmore’s Flower Shoppe” – which happens to be the last song. The transition from the previous song into this last one was great, and musically the band combines guitar sounds that reminded me of “Black Hole Sun” as the bass drum rumbles and extra fills were crazy good. Like previously mentioned, this album has a big sound. I would add to that – full tilt, no holds barred and oh yeah, balls to the wall. If you like high energy metal with periods of darkness and melodious progressive grooves, you can’t go wrong with this band. I was engaged the whole time, but I may be a bit biased because you do have to like this genre of music, or at least be in the mood – I won’t lie. For an album that was originally a five-song EP, I’m glad they decided to expand it and I look forward to hearing what they’ll do for an encore.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Critique/insightWe are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.
Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook
Archives
May 2024
|