Well...heavy enough anyway!
This latest from Bergen, Norway act Audrey Horne promises 'pure heavy' and actually delivers splendid hard rock with more then enough references to the greats of the '70s & '80s yet still sounding quite modern at the same time. That's right, though they may reside in the same town that birthed Emperor, Immortal, and Gorgoroth, there's no raging black metal here folks. Toschie (Vocals), Ice Dale (Guitar),
Thomas Tofthagen (Guitar), Kjetil Greve (Drums), and Espen Lien (Bass) form the band, and yes, you'll no doubt recognize a few of those names as members of Enslaved, Sahg, and Deride. This is 'pure hard rock fun' to put it mildly, as tracks like "Out of the City" and "Volcano Girl" contain more than enough hooks and tasty twin guitar harmonies to thrill any Thin Lizzy fan, while "Tales From the Crypt" and "Into the Wild" easily recall '80s KISS. Toschie has sort of a more melodic Ozzy thing going on with his vocals, proving a perfect complement to meaty rockers "Wolf In My Heart" and "Gravity", each one not far removed from the Black Sabbath singers mid-late '80s solo records. "High and Dry" however takes the band squarely into dramatic power metal territory, and it works on many levels with some intricate rhythms and loads of terrific riffs & solos from Tofthagen & Dale. Even the catchy "Boy Wonder" has some power metal elements along with a little doom, like a strange hybrid of Edguy and Black Sabbath.
Pure Heavy is a lot of fun, a hard rock album that doesn't take itself too seriously, yet contains plenty of hook laden, hard rockin' tunes that show a band who seem to have had a blast putting it all together. Can't ask for more than that.
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
- Wolf In My Heart
- Holy Roller
- Out Of The City
- Volcano Girl
- Tales From The Crypt
- Diamond
- Into The Wild
- Gravity
- High And Dry
- Waiting For The Night
- Boy Wonder
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