I’m going to be honest about this one from the start. I picked Hail the Hatter’s album from our big pile of reviews (yes, that’s its official title) simply because of their nationality. Can you think of any other bands from Trinidad? Regardless of where you’re from, if you gather up the same influences, you’re going to end up with the same resulting sound.
It’s straight-forward no-nonsense hard rock which has been done thousands of times before. But what they have going for them is the quality of songs on display alongside the evident fun and reverence they pay to their influences. Whilst the eerie opening spoken-word intro adds little to proceedings – partly because it’s the type of music that doesn’t need it and because there’s not a matching intro – it’s what you’d expect from a band if they shoved Guns N’ Roses and Pantera into a blender. Likewise, the first “proper” track features a couple of Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes that just don’t need to be there.
It’s evident from top to bottom that there’s a lot of love for Slash and Dimebag as their influence runs throughout the album. Match the chunky riffs of the man in the top hat with Dime’s dirtier and groove-laden moments and you have a great sound. There’s also hints of classic Megadeth in “White Walls” but without the ego the size of a small continent.
Marry the power metal/NWOBHM style vocals on offer and there is enough of a gap to say Hail the Hatter aren’t just another generic hard rock band once you get into the second half of the album. This is where the band shines with the thrashier side of things. There’s also the epic closer of “Discovering Light” where they take on a more prog approach and an orchestral opening.
Discovering Light is definitely an album of two halves, the first, despite its strange opening, is your standard hard rock fare. But the second half becomes a different beast altogether and what keeps everything ed together is the respect paid to their influences. By serving those who came before, they may sound like a band trying to do too much but instead, they clearly just want to experiment with everything they can do.
Discovering Light is out now
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