Album Review - Triggerman, Brand New Day

"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

Album Review - I Decline ' Time To Shine' ( Horns Raised Records)

Much as we love our underground metal that's been recorded on a karaoke mic for 2 euro and sounds like a serious mushroom binge gone wrong and the aftermath being caught on tape, and is wrapped in a black metaller's funeral shroud , it's nice to hear a band who aren't afraid to go  balls out on their release, and create a release that has clearly no reservations about aiming for the mainstream, and this is clearly the case for Chicago metallers I Decline.It may also be one of the most  surprisingly  excellent   underground rock releases of the year.

The first thing that you might notice when you pop this CD into your drive/stereo/car if you're luckier and richer than me, is the production.It's , and not to put too light of a spin on it, fucking MASSIVE.Guitars roar around, drums thump you in gut and bass tickles your nether regions, and , to be quite frank, it puts a fair majority of certain mainstream metal/rock releases out this year to shame in this respect.This , my friends, is what Phil Spector was going for  when he forged his  legendary 'wall of sound'.

But of course, as Simon Cowell and his dick sucking minions won't tell you is that whopper production does not a good record make, and so it's a good thing that 'Time To Shine' is packed to the gills with big hearted, bombastic and at times unashamedly OTT rock anthems.The band's sound is a slightly bizarre blend of  tar thick stoner rock riffing, old school heavy metal lead work and fists aloft, stadium swagger, mostly contained in the lung bursting vocal pairing of main vocalist Dustin Hamish, and bassist/vocalist Patrick Mc Laughlin. It's the sort of rock album that bands like The Darkness and Avenged Sevenfold would give their collective left testicles to make ,putting in mind influences from everything from the dark glam rumblings of WASP and Skid Row to Mob Rules-era Sabbath to  Thin Lizzy at their heaviest(  fans of'Thunder and Lightning' era Lizzy won't be disappointed).

Opener 'Time To Shine' sets out the band's stall pretty fucking quickly, exploding out of the traps with kick drums ablaze and rousing gang vocals that you can guarantee sets pits ablaze when the band play it live.'The Administration' is all Lizzy-esque harmonies and chest pounding rabble rousing, while  'A New Nation' drips in the kind of sleaze that Velvet Revolver did so well intermittently on their debut album.

'Grand Ruin' is another highlight, a mid paced stomper that recalls , and this is only ever a compliment , Judas Priest's 'Touch Of Evil', while 'Your Name In Blood'  swings around a riff that Iommi would surely gladly shed a tear for  and claim as his own bastard child.In truth , with the exception of the slightly bland  'Her Darkness' , and the ballad 'Jericho', which does little else than  highlight  the band's admittedly solid musicianship but sounds slightly out of place on such a gleefully balls out record, there is not a song on here which could be described as less than quality.Closer 'Rejoice Lament' ends the album on high note, blitzing the listener with Maiden- esque galloping twin guitar riffery and blasts of guitar noise, and is sure to leave the listener a sweaty , grinning mess at it's climax.

To be honest, this album won't be for everyone.It is , at it's heart, an album with one eye firmly on the mainstream, and a sound and songwriting style which reflect this, which may alienate some regular visitors to this blog.But to be honest, when an album is this addictive, well made, and well,fun(and let's be honest, at the end of the day , that is something we need in these gloomy times) , it's hard to not get behind it.And for this reviewer, it's been a reminder of the glorious joy of sometimes just rocking the fuck out.Nude.With the curtains open.Sober.I for one hope they get fucking massive.

Rating : 9/10

For fans of: Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Red Fang ,Skid Row

Listen Here:

http://www.i-decline.com

Stephen O ' Connor

bornagainnihilist@gmail.com 

New Orange Goblin Album on the Way!!

Born Again Nihilist's winged news monkeys of doom brought us in something extra special today, as we have just been informed that UK stoner legends Orange Goblin are putting the finishing touches to vocal tracks on their newest album (ETA March 2012). This is great news for fans of the fuzzed up quartet, as this will be the band's first proper full length effort since 2007's wonderful 'Healing Through Fire' , which is still the underlying cause , we reckon, of BAN's chronic whiplash and latent alcoholism stemming from that era.Expect riffs, riffs and more riffs, along with man mountain Ben Ward 's whiskey and fag soaked roar scaring small children and your parents alike .Did we mention riffs?I think we said that.

Ste , bornagainnihilist@gmail.com