Vultures – Axewound
British supergroup soar on debut album
Rating: - 7/10
There are
only two types of supergroup, those that succeed and either rival their original
band or even in certain cases eclipse them ( A Perfect Circle, Down, Transplants). Or there are the ones that
crash and burn never to be heard from again (Them Crooked Vultures,Adrenaline Mob,Chickenfoot).
Axewound, founded by Bullet for my Valentine mainman Matt
Tuck and consisting of members of Glamour
of the Kill, Rise to Remain, Pitchshifter and Cancer Bats, where described by Matt himself as sounding like a
cross between Slipknot and Pantera whilst being “metal as fuck”. To
be honest he isn’t far off.
Their debut
album Vultures is significantly
heavier than any of Bullet’s previous
offerings, offering up a much harsher and thrashy production and vibe, as well
as the riffs becoming more furious and brutal than Matt has written before,
even producing some Meshuggah esque
grooves during the title track Vultures.
There are some moments when the band set into Bullet territory, the track Cold which features Matt sharing lead
vocal duties with Liam Cormier from Cancer Bats, could have easily featured on
Bullet’s last album Fever, but still
packs the punch that has been missing from that album.
Man of the
match award on this album clearly goes to Jason Bowld of Pitchshifter on the drums. He provides a powerful backbeat to the
album as well as the occasional scatter gun fills that are peppered throughout
the record. Liam also proves once again why he is one of the best vocalists and
frontmen in the game, adding hardcore swagger to the vocals which adds another
dimension to the mix, practically on the single Post Apocalyptic Party.
The album does fall into heavy
Bullet influenced territory on tracks
like Exochrist and the heinous ballad
Collide, which is the albums main
weak point. But these flaws are made up for with the rest of the album maintaining
a high level of consistency as well as being rammed full of ragers like Post Apocalyptic Party, the title track
(featuring Synester Gates from Avenged
Sevenfold on guitar) and the thrashy Testament
inspired Victim of the System.
Overall this is a solid debut
album from the group, which easily warrants another release from the band
further down the line. The album is easily the heaviest project any of the members
of the band have worked on, as well as being packed full of visious riffs and
killer vocal hooks. As supergroup’s go Axewound
is pretty damn good, lets just hope some of it translates into the new
Bullet album. Unlikely though
For Fans of: - Cancer Bats, Avenged Sevenfold, Slipknot, Bullet
for my Valentine