When I first heard that Mr Darski was to release an album that was not related to Behemoth, I was suitably intrigued. Given that I listen to a lot of music outside of the metal sphere, I was further lured in when I heard that he was going to be collaborating with John Porter and figured I’d keep an ear open to see what came of it.
With its modern take on old western music, the opening track “My Church Is Black” immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album. With lyrical themes similar to those of his other band, the atmosphere it creates is somewhat dark and oppressive.
It’s only when the main riff of “On The Road” comes along that the album actually starts to show off the skills of the duo. With its pounding bass drum and a mix of acoustic and electric guitars, this is the kind of song that would really be at home in a movie such as Australia or even The Expendables during one of the transitions or travelling scenes.
“Love & Death” with its little piano parts breaks the mould somewhat and adds a little bit of flare to the predominantly guitar based tracks. The variety continues into one of my favourite tracks on the album; “One Day”. Keeping a kind of walking pace throughout and a very catchy rhythm, it builds upon some of the themes explored earlier on the album and twists them to make it one of the more ‘cheerful’ tracks on the album.
The penultimate track of the album, “Get Outta This Place”, is again the kind of track that I could easily see featuring in a western-inspired movie. With a rousing chorus and the group ‘chats’ of “We gotta get outta this place”, the track rounds out the more upbeat songs in the album rather nicely.
Ending the album, one of the best songs on it in my opinion, “Ain’t Much Loving” brings back the dark and brooding manner that was first introduced on “My Church Is Black”. Instead of choosing to end on a high, the duo decide to end the album on a somewhat sad note. The cry of “Nothing can fix my broken soul” serves to only amplify this feeling of despair and depravity which is echoed in the sparse instrumentation of the track. A sorrowful ending then, to this varied album of alternative music from the duo.
While ittedly this album is out of my comfort zone per se, it still has a lot of elements which I personally rather enjoyed. ittedly, though, the tracks can almost be considered a bit too similar due to the instrumentation being the same throughout. At the end of the day, though, it is simply just my opinion.
Rating: 8/10
Standout tracks: On The Road, One Day, Get Outta this Place, Ain’t Much Loving.
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