ERUPTION - review added 18th May 2009
Album Review: All Screwed Up (2009)
For fans of: hard rock... and 70's rock 'n' roll done modern
The cover looks like the one from Loverboy's Just Getting started album, the story behind the band's rise is more complex than a badly written rocket-science exam... and the music sounds eerily familiar the first time you hear it. But, you know what, moaning aside this album ain't half bad!
The band hail from, well, all over the place. Their Italian guitarist went to Australia looking to put a group together, brought the resulting ensemble to the UK and, after a few more line-up changes and name alterations, ended up with the Eruption we have today - Darren Grant (vocals), Santi Rigolizio (guitar), Lee Golledge (drums) and Ben White (bass).
Darren Grant's vocals have an interesting twang and he can certainly belt out a fair wedge of volume. There's a characterful edge to his singing that gels perfectly with Eruption's heavy rock 'n' roll style. They have hints of the no bullsh*t thunder of AC/DC, the party-licious nonsense of Motley Crue and the mellow fire of Kansas. That may sound like a random old mix of influences and it is... but the result is solid and tight yet fluid and freeform. The guys sound full of excitement and full of themselves. On stage I suspect they will be mesmerising.
Opening track 'Temple Of Love' won't take your breath away, but it's a nice way to ease into the album. It introduces Eruption perfectly as it bounces and bounds its way through 4 minutes of 70's retro rock. 'Bad Girls' explodes with such a rush it makes you feel like you're on a night out with your buddies... even when you're at home. The rhythms are so infectious it's a wonder rats don't carry them. The retro vibe is still in evidence but the song majors on partying, not reminiscing.
'Leopard' has a brilliant sing along chorus. Santi Rigolizio's guitar work is as funky and fun as a Chili Pepper cocktail and the whole song will stick in your mind for ages. Brilliant. Almost at the same peak of excellence is 'Natural High'. It loses itself a tad in the chorus, but the Van Halen styled riffs and fresh-faced composition is so full of energy it's a wonder it doesn't go boom.
'Nine Year Old Child' is a moody track with a gloomy atmospheric feel you can't help but get drawn into. It's somewhere between a ballad and an epic prog rock piece. The result is huge and deserves any praise it gets. 'Reflection' and 'All Screwed Up' finish the album in a classic vein. They are both rock 'n' roll heroes at whose altar all true fans could happily worship.
Eruption's debut album is verging on brilliance. In principal it isn't particularly original and, technically, there isn't a huge amount that'll get you drooling in admiration... but these guys have an indefinable something in their writing and performing that makes you want to listen again and again. At the end of the day, producing a compulsive and irresistible record is what this game is all about. Eruption have done that, pardon the pun, on a volcanic scale.
Check out... 'Nine Year Old Child'. We like.
Track List:
1. Temple Of Love
2. Bad Girl
3. I Wanna Know
4. Leopard
5. Naive
6. Natural High
7. Nine Year Old Child
8. Purify
9. Reflection
10. All Screwed Up
Label: Escape Music
Artist's websites: MySpace
