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Diesel Phoenix - Diesel Phoenix - 'Here's Something We Prepared Earlier' album review
05 Dec 2009 // A review by lukefitzmaurice
'Here’s Something We Prepared Earlier' is the new album from Auckland five-piece Diesel Phoenix, a hard hitting record which throws together rock, punk, pop, and even a little bit of metal.
The album opens with the eerie instrumental track 'Willard’s Run', a song which provides a haunting introduction to the rest of the album. From there the band kick things up a notch, with the tempo remaining high until about the halfway point. The tracks range in style from the crunching guitar-driven verses of LPO, to the more pop-rock influenced 'First Kiss'. They tone it down a little with 'Living Room', which reminded me a little of Metallica's 'Nothing Else Matters', but all-in-all the first half is fairly heavy.
The second half of the album, marked by the appropriately titled 'Interlude' is noticeably more restrained. Almost every track starts out slowly, and although some pick up the tempo towards the end, many remain relatively throughout. The noteable exception is 'Just A Kid', which was probably my favourite track on the record.
My general assessment of the album was that it was good, but not great. Diesel Phoenix don’t seem to have quite found their feet as a band, and it felt to me as though they couldn’t quite make up their mind as to the sound they were going for. Also, I felt that at times the haunting vocals of their lead singer didn’t quite fit the music, but perhaps that says more about my taste in vocalists than anything else. That said, I would probably still recommend them for fans of rock and metal bands such as Metallica. There’s potential there, but I don’t think it’s been found quite just yet.
'Here’s Something We Prepared Earlier' is the new album from Auckland five-piece Diesel Phoenix, a hard hitting record which throws together rock, punk, pop, and even a little bit of metal. The album opens with the eerie instrumental track 'Willard’s Run', a song which provides a haunting introduction to the rest of the album. From there the band kick things up a notch, with the tempo remaining high until about the halfway point. The tracks range in style from the crunching guitar-driven verses of LPO, to the more pop-rock influenced 'First Kiss'. They tone it down a little with 'Living Room', which reminded me a little of Metallica's 'Nothing Else Matters', but all-in-all the first half is fairly heavy.
The second half of the album, marked by the appropriately titled 'Interlude' is noticeably more restrained. Almost every track starts out slowly, and although some pick up the tempo towards the end, many remain relatively throughout. The noteable exception is 'Just A Kid', which was probably my favourite track on the record.
My general assessment of the album was that it was good, but not great. Diesel Phoenix don’t seem to have quite found their feet as a band, and it felt to me as though they couldn’t quite make up their mind as to the sound they were going for. Also, I felt that at times the haunting vocals of their lead singer didn’t quite fit the music, but perhaps that says more about my taste in vocalists than anything else. That said, I would probably still recommend them for fans of rock and metal bands such as Metallica. There’s potential there, but I don’t think it’s been found quite just yet.
About Diesel Phoenix
'When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.’
— Jimi Hendrix
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Diesel Phoenix
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