Moosehead - Herd 
Release Date: Out Now
For those about to rock, check out Moosehead. I've been following the progress of the Cornish rockers for a while now so it's really exciting to finally get my ears around their new album 'Herd'. We are somewhat eased into the album by opening track 'Heal And Fade' which is a 90 second slice of melodic rock but then 'One Good Reason' comes in through the window and the party kicks off with a wall of sound and the kind of ferocity I've come to expect from these lads. It is, however, the huge riffing of 'Free Your Mind' that takes us up a couple of gears as you feel your fingers involuntarily forming the rock hand and your head starts to bob in time.
The Muse-esque guitars of 'Speak No Evil' are coupled with a 100mph beat and the screaming vocals you'd expect, nay, demand for this kind of track. There's a mellower start to 'Blood' which harkens back to a more grunge inspired time as the strings and guitars create the kind or rock ballad that MTV would have been all over in the Unplugged days. Before long, however, we are back to rocking out with the Audioslave sized 'Lost My Mind '69' followed by 'Snake Eyes' which hurtles like a juggernaut with broken brakes and a driver on suicide mission. The bass takes the lead on 'Never Easy', chugging along underneath some scything guitars creating a song full of devilish intent and dark moods.
Possibly the most radio friendly melody is found on 'Hand That Feeds' but it still retains a certain Je Ne Sais Sabbath. Penultimate track (and sound ocular advice) 'Don't Stare At The Sun' finds a drummer in feverish form and I'd be genuinely fascinated to watch this percussive performance recreated live but the song is more than a beat as the advice for life keeps coming so you'd better pay attention. The album closes out on the epic 'Cabin Fever' which finds a deep groove and goes all Faith No More on our collective asses with a a little funk in amongst all that rock'n'roll. Sure, these guys can rock, we already knew that, but what this album shows us is that they've got ideas, ambition and range which is delicious combination.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/mooseheadband
Live Dates:
29th April - The Gryphon, Bristol w/Masheena