Metal Blade – Out Now

It is official; most people who are into Heavy Metal also enjoy Rock n’Roll music! I mean, there has always been a strong connection between the two genres with bands like Motorhead and Thin Lizzy ‘carrying the torch’ and bringing these two worlds closer together so to speak but, as the years go by, more and more young bands seem to embrace and incorporate such musical formulae into their music.

What’s even more impressive, however, is to find artists that have already established themselves in more extreme music forms jumping on said bandwagon. One such example is the US quartet Gypsyhawk, a band whose members have already made a name for themselves through heavily advertised outfits, such us White Wizzard and Skeletonwitch and who are now about to release their second studio album under this moniker.

As you expect “Revelry & Resilience” is pretty much the result of a process of four guys trying to escape the strict confines of their daily ‘jobs’ and celebrate the music that they grew up listening to. The one band whose music has clearly been the main source of inspiration here is Thin Lizzy, with elements from giants like Deep Purple and MC5 also creeping in at strategic points throughout the album.

Now, I am not sure if what these four lads tried to achieve here was to re-create the feel and sound of the late 70s Hard Rock or use these elements and present them in a more modern setting, but that is not at all important as they have somehow managed to fail at both! Let me explain…

I am pretty sure that the band’s intentions were pretty noble as it really does feel like these guys had a pretty good time making this record – a basic requirement, of course. The problem here is that bands like Thin Lizzy made a career not so much based on their musical skills, which were undeniable of course, but on their great feel and passion – both elements shining through their absence on this album.

For every decent tune like the heavy riffed “Overloaded” and the catchy Rock n’Roller “Galaxy Rise” there is the equivalent generic and uninspiring theme, like the directionless “Frostwyrm” and the rhythmically uneven “Night Songs For The Desert”. Eric Harris has perhaps tried his best to emulate the late Phil Lynott but it is his inability to provide emotionally convincing performances that mainly deprives “Revelry & Resilience” from reaching its true potential leaving me from really connecting with the album. The end result? Well, much as I found the process of listening to the album in its entirety a pretty harmless one, it is an experience I am not going to go out of my way to repeat any time in the near future.

“Revelry & Resilience” is not what you would strictly describe as a bad album but it just so happens that it is not a particularly good one either. The quartet seems to be well aware of the ‘rules of engagement’ here – they just haven’t managed to follow them in a particularly successful fashion. If playing this style of music is not something to just keep them musically active when they are not working with their main bands, but a serious affair then they might want to reconsider how they approach their song writing process, perhaps leading to more inspiring material in future releases.

John Stefanis

Rating: *** (3.0/5.0)

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 20 October 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 22 October 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 28 October 2024

THE RASMUS Rest In Pieces (Better Noise Music)
THE PLAGUE What Else Can I Do (FiXT)
STAR CIRCUS Turn The Tide (indie)
DEFENCES Breathe It In (Long Branch Records)

Featured Albums w/c 28 October 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)