This Florida band has a fair amount of grunge to their sound. They think of themselves as stoner rock, but they owe more to the late 90s than the 70s. They are decent songwriters and musicians, and the vocals are not an afterthought which are all things I respect, They are cool enough for me to keep listening after the first song so that says something. You hear them fighting the urge to shred as the song builds. There is more of a soulful boogie when the pace picks up for the second song. They also edge closer to radio-friendly hard rock here.
They do have a knack for grooving which redeems them. It's like Southern Rock meets Shinedown on "The Crown That Eats the Head". "Gone are the Days" is darker and more metallic, though they are smoking enough weed to give it a mellowness to the groove than the aggressive metal attack. It is one of the album's strongest songs. "Wrath of the Mighty" has some licks that feel like they were lifted from Zep's "Since I've Been Loving You". If you are going to rip off a band Zeppelin is a good one to pick. It is soulful and you can not fault them for that. "The Old Ways' gallops forward, with old-school metal in its veins.. Not the most inspiring moment, but not boring either as the guitar stayed busy.
"Manmade Weather" is largely forgettable it does not have the drive of "Pillars" which at least musters a head bang of sorts, though this is more amped-up rock than metal. It is more about guitar heroics, as tasteful as it may be. It is impressive they can muster a jam into a song, that clock in at just over three minutes. It would be fun live. The last song is nine minutes, so you know there is going to be some jamming if not noodling. It is more deliberate than expected and leans in the direction of being a power ballad without getting sappy. I will give this one an 8, it's a solid effort from a band with a great deal of potential and killer guitar playing.
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