Beth Blade is not what you would describe as a shrinking violet. She and her band present a graphic face to the world, bolshy and aggressive, larger than life and twice as mean. Check out the photo accompanying this review, and you’ll gain a pretty fair idea of what the music sounds like. Lyrically though, you might get the wrong idea. True, Beth’s voice is strident and powerful, clear as a bell rather than smoky or raw, with a punky flavour that recalls Joan Jett or Saffron from Republica. But despite the graphically gory cover art, the lyrics portray an edge of suffering, of never quite fitting in, of shouting at the world in defence, rather than trying to cause offence.
Mythos, Confession, Tragedies & Love is the Cardiff combo’s third full-length opening, and The Otherside is a great opener, starting with a rumbling, distorted bass note, then a sepulchrally-heavy, bassy riff until the number powers in riding a mid-tempo rock rhythm. Sin Eater carries on in much the same vein, with a phased, heavy guitar riff and slow rock drums. There are usually two rhythm guitars going on, both set up for bass-heavy grunge, but usually playing separate parts that avoid stepping on each others’ toes. There are solos too, but not of the shredding variety, and often mushed down in the mix somewhat.
Just when it’s becoming clear that the band are not likely to play any up-tempo, jolly tunes, they come from the blind side with the up-tempo, jolly, Tonight I’m With You, a major-key feelgood pop-rocker not unlike Volbeat’s Lola Montez, with a succinct guitar solo and a tight ending. Who You Are seems to me to be the hub of this album though – starting off with a Status Quo rock intro, morphing into a heavy pop-punk rocker, this is an ode to uniqueness in spite of opposition and bullying. “Stay weird, stay strange”, Beth exhorts, “Be a geek, be a freak, it ain’t a crime to be unique”. A deceptively complex number with multiple rhythm changes and a tight ending, this one also features an acoustic guitar.
Hold Your Heart starts as if to be a guitar-arpeggio ballad, but the band comes in and gradually builds the volume to power rock levels, without ever quite losing the ballad feel, bolstered by more acoustic guitar. It’s a well-presented number that showcases a tight and sympathetic musical team working in unison, however brash they may wish to appear. The lusty rocker Undo Me works to backtrack on that impression slightly, but from here on in, the band just seems to get better and better. After a chilled intro, Persephone bursts in as a rapid-fire metal rocker, with intermittent rhythm changes and a relatively long guitar solo, a highlight of the set for this reviewer.
The band showcases their historical chops with Ozymandias, an alias of Pharaoh Rameses II, often presented as an object lesson in baseless arrogance. A slow, hard rock rhythm and a wall of aah-aah backing vocals serve as the backdrop for a wah guitar solo that’s mixed a bit higher than usual, being a feature in its own right. Sacrifice is another highlight, a slow, melodic power ballad with shades of Within Temptation. There is a single violin or viola in there too, and the ensemble fades out over an extended chord punctuated with thumping piano notes. Trigger Warning continues the slightly symphonic theme, opening with harmony vocals followed by double guitar riff in counterpoint.
Still Not Asking For It is proper, mid-tempo, grungy heavy metal with loads of cymbals, and an angry vocal, as might be assumed from the title – heavy enough to be Creed with female vocals, and a great ending to a heavy set.
If you get the version with two bonus tracks though, a real surprise awaits: I Never Knew is a 6-minute duet between disarmingly emotional vocals and a piano; it’s easy enough to imagine Chris Cornell or Eddie Vedder powering their way through this, but just as easy to imagine it as a Cyndi Lauper ballad. It’s another highlight in any case. The extended version ends with another up-tempo good time number in New York Time, which could be Freefaller or McFly. Perhaps more punky and upbeat than some of the band’s outright heavy metal earlier work, nevertheless the hard rock and power metal is still there to be heard. The album cover may be as graphic and bloody as it’s possible to be, but one can’t help wondering whether it’s all a front, and trying to glimpse the vulnerable person or people behind the brash mask. And after all, I think that’s the point.
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