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 | |  Tysondog - Cry Havoc (2015) Album Review | |
Tysondog - Cry Havoc (2015)
Rocksector Records -- Running Time - 60:49
SCORE
7.5/10
Lately, thanks to the plethora of bands from the 1980's 'giving it another go', I seem to be repeating myself in reviews but, yet again, I have to say Tysondog were a band that promised much and deserved more than they got back in the day. I haven't got room here to give you a full history (you can go to their website for that) but it is worth saying that I bought both of their previous albums 'Beware Of The Dog' and 'Crimes Of Insanity' pretty much as soon as they were first released and consider myself a long standing fan of the band. What this repeated story does tell you is that, like today, there are thousands of talented musicians, bands and artists in all genres of music that never get the chance to shine on a bigger stage and luck, or lack of it, plays such a big part in things! Tysondog returned with an EP in 2012 and are now back in 2015 with their third album 'Cry Havoc', produced by Jeff Dunn (Mantas of Venom fame) and have signed a deal with none other than my favourite UK Independent Label 'Rocksector Records' who seem to have a knack for releasing great music!
Now that I listen to so much new music I do have a far more critical ear than in the past and, with that in mind, there is a track on 'Cry Havoc' that really doesn't work for me, but for the most part, Tysondog have released a very worthy album that takes their NWOBHM and Classic Metal roots by the scruff of the neck and piledrives them squarely into the 21st Century. Three of the band that recorded the B-Side of their 1983 7" Single are still around in the form of John 'Clutch' Carruthers (Vocals), Paul Burdis (Guitar) & Kevin Wynn (Bass) who are joined by Phil Brewis (Drums) and recent addition Stevie Morrison (Guitar). Together they appear a heavier band than they were originally but in today's musical climate that's probably a good thing. 'Parasite', 'Nemesis', 'Playing With Fire', 'Relentless' and 'Crash And Burn' all start with some awesome riffing and catch the attention immediately. Strangely, the band that first came to mind as an influence were latter day Metal Church before they initially broke up. Of course you can also hear the rumblings of Judas Priest, Saxon, Avenger, Satan and on the aforementioned 'Relentless' Megadeth! Harmony vocals on 'Crash And Burn' also remind me very much of what Rock Goddess were doing on their 1983 debut album! It's a mix of old and new that actually works very well and Dunn has done a good job of the production!
I do have a couple of reservations though. Firstly, the track I'm not sure works at all well is 'The Needle'. It starts off very promisingly with a great stop start riff giving the bass and drums a chance to shine. What lets it down though is an absolute clunker of a chorus. It doesn't just sound like it's in the wrong song but the vocals don't seem to match the guitar and it's one of those moments when the words 'cutting room floor' should have been used! This leads into my second point, in as much as several of the choruses just aren't strong enough compared to the initial riffs and verses! A Chorus is such an integral part of a Heavy Metal song and when the rest of the song is good you want that part to really be superb and it's one area that Tysondog need to concentrate on!
Those things aside, especially if you love real thumping riffs that will have you cranking your neck to the point of whiplash than 'Cry Havoc' is a great comeback album and Tysondog have quite obviously got their hunger back. I'll be seeing them live, for the first time, in a few weeks at SOS Festival and am looking forward to them immensely. If circumstance allows them to continue as a band and they work on those choruses a bit then, in my humble opinion, the next album could really be killer and a benchmark release for them!
http://www.tysondog.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tysondog/53688465500
https://twitter.com/tysondogrock
https://www.facebook.com/rocksectorrecords
http://www.rocksector.com
Review written exclusively for Brutiful Entertainment by Rick Tilley:
www.facebook.com/richard.tilley.351
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