"Go Fuck Yourself Goliath!"
Triggerman, a heavy rock band with bluesy leanings from Belfast that are making as deep a dent as they possibly can in the current Irish rock scene. Here Nihilist takes a gander at their latest effort, 'Brand New Day'.
A total rock 'n' roll anthem is what we're faced with starting up this record, the aptly named 'The Riff Holds Sway'. No doubt this one will end up being a fan favourite as time goes on, and why wouldn't it? Look at what its got going on: a title and theme that all heavy music heads can get on board with, riffs galore perfectly captured with a luscious distorted tone and frontman Bap's voice is in the early Clutch realms, think more Neil Fallon's malicious growl from the first Clutch album rather than the southern tinged bellow he's known for today.
Next up, 'I Got the Lurgy', opens with pig-nosed dirty bass from four-stringer Dixie and makes its way into a simple stomping riff that sways on and off kilter like a drunken man walking home suitably refreshed. However, if that's the case then next track, 'The Road to Damascus', is where the same sozzled man falls down a hill. This is all hard, up tempo riffing in the vein of good aule Orange Goblin, fuck yeah! Lead guitarist Niall is clearly in love with his wah, peppering the riffs with quaky harmonies when he can.
An interesting, almost hip hop influenced approach is taken on the record's namesake, 'Brand New Day', Bap half speaking his verses, the Belfast accent, seldom heard in music, plain to hear. Up next, 'Horns', establishes this as a definite drinking album. A dead simple riff complimented by an Eric Bell's Thin Lizzy style lead line, bound to go down well with Irish audiences.
Things take a decidedly heavier route with the mammoth opening of 'There Strides Goliath'. The trend continues with 'Voices' where drummer Rory brings out some nu-metal flavoured grooves to great affect. This also marks at least the third or fourth instance of direct biblical references in Bap's lyrics. Sadly, this is also the end of the record.
You can tell you're enjoying a record when it comes to and end and you're left feeling it was over too soon. I got that very feeling from this listening so I'm taking it as a good omen. Triggerman are just one of a hefty handful of quality bands operating out of Northern Ireland at the moment, no doubt the buzz will soon turn into talk and B.A.N's talk on the matter begins here.
If you're in one of those moods to just enjoy some proper fuckin' rock and 'Ace of Spades' has been too overplayed to satisfy, lash this one on, you won't regret it. The riffing, the grooving, the snarling all adds up to a heady brew to quench the heavy thirsts. If there's only one bone I had to pick with it was that I would have loved to see greater variety, it'd be awesome to see the band branch out a little more and they do show signs of doing so on certain tracks here, so I'd be keen to see what they come out with next.
All in all: bleedin' rocks!
Triggerman, 'Brand New Day'
Rating: 8/10
Listen to: There Strides Goliath, The Riff Holds Sway, Voices.
For Fans of: Clutch, Grifter, Orange Goblin.
Listen here: http://www.reverbnation.com/triggermanrocks
Edward Gerard Brophy
bornagainnihilist@gmail(DOT)com
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