Review By Graeme Wright
Anyone who reads my stuff knows that wherever possible, I prefer to promote and review new music from up and coming bands whenever I get the opportunity. I came across Letters To Burn quite by chance when I was involved in a Facebook discussion where I was bemoaning the fact that a lot of bands now avoid my home town of Liverpool because of low ticket sales and empty venues compared to those they achieve in other areas of the country. Letters To Burn had bucked that trend when they performed a local gig with a number of other bands and virtually sold out the venue with hard work, good promotion and a savvy lineup that appealed to a number of different groups of Heavy Rock punters.
I connected with Tony the drummer and delved into their recent EP ‘Rebirth’. The band are an Alternative Metal band who don’t sacrifice melody for aggression (which for me is the hardest trick to pull off in this genre.) The band have a pretty unique sound but if you add into the mix the fantastic vocals of singer Michael Morris there is more than a (self-confessed) hint of Alter Bridge with a touch of Prog thrown in and a crunching back line of bass and drums that occasionally reminded me of early Black Sabbath.
Let’s cut to the chase. I love this record. The songs are beautifully written, contain complex arrangements and intelligent lyrics and all four cuts found here are of the highest quality. The production is incredibly professional and the whole enterprise sounds like that of a well established stadium band rather than an outfit fresh out of the starting gate. All of the band members have years of experience playing in a live music setting and it really shows as there is a confidence and swagger on display here that is rare for a fledgling release.
Opening track ‘Rebirth’ has a crunching opening which segues into a soaring vocal. It’s my favourite song on this record and it wouldn’t sound out of place if Marc Tremonti and co. were laying it down as an opening track at Wembley Arena because it’s that good. ‘Buried’ is up next and this track contains a huge array of riffs and an almost Power Metal tinge to the proceedings. ‘Reunion’ has an ominous opening and contains some fabulous guitar work and is both complex and immediate. The final track ‘Sledgehammer’ is the heaviest track on the album and is closer to Thrash/Alternative Rock and it is yet another prime cut and a suitably bombastic close to this fantastic record.
Needless to say this collection is highly recommended by this writer. Give them a listen, follow them on Social Media and above all try and get out to see them when they are on the road because this is superb stuff.
Letters To Burn:
Michael Morris – Vocals
Rob Boyd – Guitars
Chris Shaw – Guitars
Daz Cooper – Bass
Tony Long – Drums
Track Listing:
1. Rebirth
2. Buried
3. Reunion
4. Sledgehammer
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