Well, this is third Lockjaw release review (fourth if you count the Wake The Dead review I did a week or so ago). Almeida are from the south coast and bill themselves as progressive thrash. Judging by the cover of Fantastic Massacre, they also have a sense of humour, which is always good. Looking at the bands they've played alongside, they seem to have a pretty good pedigree, which is a sing of quality.
Tracklist:-
1. Kinslayer
2. Kings of Contempt
3. Fantastic Massacre (A Heart Wrenching Soliloquy About Me Feelin’s Fer Tugger)
4. Lifeboats
5. Ice Cream Song
6. Bale Fire
7. Fail Buyer
8. Occam's Razor (i)
9. Jury and the Executioner (ii)
10. Reservations (iii)
11. By Sin of Omission
Okay so the progressive thrash may have been a bit of a
misnomer, as the first track kicks in, Almeida come across as a mixture of
Protest The Hero, Pennywise and Dragonforce! Now, I’m not trying to pigeonhole them
before I've even started, as I don't think you can categorise Almeida at all.
The musicianship is pretty incredible, the rhythm section is
fast and furious, the guitars are a mixture of punk riffs and killer, off-kilter
solos and the vocals range from death metal growls to pop-punk melodies and
some cool three-way harmonies. The song lengths vary too, which is where they get the
progressive tag. There are so many ideas crammed into each song; it's an
absorbing listen if you have the attention span and the brain to work it all
out. Take second song Kings of Contempt as a good example. It's just over four
minutes long, but seems to about four songs in one.
The title track is the third track of this long player, and
starts with some really well played guitar, and considering this is Almeida's
first album, sounds pretty assured and confident. I would liken them to the
first time I heard fellow British nuts Sikth, as they go the extra mile to
write songs with imagination and skill. Fantastic Massacre is the first of
three songs on the album to breach the seven-minute mark and it's like a rock
opera. It's mainly instrumental, but it has to be heard to be believed.
Ice Cream Song is a brilliant semi-acoustic piece, that
brings things back down to a level or normality, with some great strumming that
shows off their skills as musicians again. Bale Fire is a fast, frenetic piece
of experimental noise, with death growls, gang vocals and crazy fretboard wizardry.
It continues straight into Fail Buyer, which is just the same but this time is
more hardcore inspired. I know I've already said this, but there are so many
ideas here that it's hard to take in.
I love how one song morphs into another and can only imagine
what the recording of this album would have been like. I can imagine plenty of caffeine
was consumed in the studio. Talking of the studio, the production of Fantastic
Massacre is also brilliant. Each element is clear and can be heard; yet they
work so well together. Sometimes is can be hard for bands to mould all these
ideas and time changes together, but Almeida seem to is with consummate ease,
which just shows hoe good these guys are.
Almeida have uploaded the title track from their album to bandcamp, so you can stream it and download it:-
You can also pick it up from either their bigcartel page at http://www.almeida.bigcartel.com or via Lockjaw records at http://www.lockjawrecords.co.uk/ or Japanese label Bells on Records at http://www.facebook.com/bellsonrecords/app.
Well there you have it, my last review of the Easter break and what a record to finish on. Just do me a favour now, check out their bandcamp page and then pick up their album. You'd be mental not to!
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