Devil's Gate Music
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As a region, Yorkshire has a decent history of producing both successful and respected Rock/Metal acts throughout the decades. Old guard like Saxon,Def Leppard,New Model Army,My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost have passed the torch over to newer acts like Marmozets,Rolo Tomassi,While She Sleeps and of course Bring Me The Horizon. The less said about infamous Bradford hellraiser Gareth Gates the better though, proper hardcore that lad. Leeds quartet Chasing Dragons are keen to continue in this tradition and as a taster for their debut album (due 2017) they are releasing a 3 track EP called “Faction : Prologue”.
The tracks on offer change style and tact throughout as the band succeed in being impossible to pigeonhole. It’s Metal made for today but with one eye open on the glorious past when Metal ruled the world. You might hear echoes of Iron Maiden just as much as you might hear Halestorm or Oli Sykes and company. As an example, opener “Devil In Her Eyes”, with it’s instant beginning (no hanging about here), has a real Avenged Sevenfold guitar feel to it. Not for long though as the song changes stride throughout. There is a great change in pace around the minute mark followed by some frantic drum action and it changes again with a softer interlude followed by some guitar shredding before the song ends with a chugging Groove Metal riff.
“The Mutiny” has a very catchy chorus and is the most commercial of the three tracks, but commercial with an edge. Vocalist Tank has a very impressive voice that demands attention,especially with the lengthy scream mid song. Said scream ends with a single cymbal ping almost like a bell ringing in a boxing match. Simple but effective. There’s a period during the song two minutes in where Tank is almost talking the lyrics and this is where the Lzzy Hale comparison comes from. Great vocal harmonies throughout and kudos on the screams.
“Whitehorse” has a classic Metal feel to it, mainly down to the relentless bass drum action from Kate, who along with bassist Murf form quite a partnership.T he vocals from Tank are softer in places and the guitar work from Mitch is exemplary. A vocalist is only as good as the musicians alongside them and it’s obvious that these guys have been putting in the hours in the rehearsal room. Kate on drums deserves special mention as she can fucking hit hard and her sound is nothing short of perfect.
An EP that shows great promise for the future from a band deserving of your attention and further investigation.As Yorkshire’s most famous son might say….Bang Tidy.
“Faction : Prologue” is due for release March 29th and can be preordered from the band’s website.
Review by Dave Stott