Vindicata: Beneath The Surface

With crunching riffs and blistering drums the debut from Vindicata lands with a seriously authoritative punch, a modern attack wrapped aggressively round a hard rock base and allowed to detonate with little care for the damage caused. Fronted by Mary Magill, this lady proves that there seems to be no end to the incredibly talented women who are now taking the rock world by storm. And her band’s Beneath The Surface album comes replete with a twin guitar assault that isn’t afraid to rock the very ground you stand on. Aggressive and assertive, the pairing of Jim McCrostie and Brett Pedersen are augmented by one-time Megadeth man Chris Poland, who pours a fiery fret feast of solos down on a set of songs that make an immediate impression and then begin to dig deeper with time.

Magill has a wide range, capable of soothing and cajoling with a clean attack, but undoubtedly more effective when adding a little grit and steel to her delivery. Hear her howl on the mid-paced stomp of “Would You� to really wrap yourself up in the world this young lady can create. Whereas on “Edge Of Sleep� the balance she finds between controlled aggression and siren like clarity gives a thunderously delivered barrage of riffage a twin edged attack that you might not otherwise expect. The likes of “Supermegalithic� maybe takes a little longer to get under the skin and while it opens the album in confident style, for me it might have been better as a deeper cut later in proceedings, the much more controlled vocal delivery a little overshadowed by the buoyant brutishness of the beats. The man behind the kit is Pete Weaver and while I may not have come across this skin pummeller before, his work is a lesson in how to take an album by the scruff of the neck and drag it forward. Personally, I find the production on his hi-hat work to be a little bright, with the hiss of stick on metal sometimes a little too forceful in the mix, but it’s hardly a make or break element of what’s going on here.

Mat Hansen isn’t far behind, his bass work unobtrusive but vital to the foundation of what in the wrong hands could have been a dominant fret focused explosion. This four-string man tames that beast while also understanding when to take a half step back and let the lead work of Poland and McCrostie take control. “Heavy Crowns� being a prime example where the ex-Megadether bursts to the fore without ever quite tumbling into the world of shred.

It’s early days for Vindicata and Mary Magill, but with the clear and obvious talents she has there’s no doubt that this lady can go the distance. Beneath The Surface is an intriguing and in a few ways a slightly unexpected debut offering. What comes next should prove to be extremely interesting.

Track Listing
1. SUPERMEGALITHIC

2. DEATH DEFYING YEARS

3. CARRY MY DREAMS AWAY

4. HEAVY CROWNS

5. WOULD YOU

6. LEAP OFF THE EARTH

7. FRAGILE

8. EDGE OF SLEEP

9. LEAP OF FAITH

10. EVERMORE

11. WASTING AWAY

12. LET THE WORLD RIGHT IN

13. TIME

Added: December 23rd 2018
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Beneath The Surface @ The Grooveyard
Hits: 1256
Language: english

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