Frontiers [Release date : 08.12.2023]
Frontiers world wide scouting system unearthed Fifth Note in Kohima, a town in the north of India.
Originally a Christian Rock band (although India is a predominantly a Hinduism/Islamism country, almost 30 million Christians live there).
More recently, they have turned to hard rock…covering a Stryper song is the nearest they’ve got to their CCM past.
Here We Are is the band’s debut.
It’s the kind of album the term “mixed bag” was designed for.
‘Dreamer’ and ‘Rider’ are frantic, hard driving rock songs. One listen and you might think you’re having an unfortunate encounter with an AC/DC wannabe bar band.
Then ‘Always Love You’ and ‘Here We Are’, the title track, make you sit up and take notice. You’re pretty sure you’re being immersed in the new wave of Scandinavian Melodic Rock. Not a bad thing.
And so the contrasts continue…
‘Falling Apart’ and ‘End Times’ go off tangentially into screaming Prog Metal territory, tearing up the scenery, scaring the horses.
And that’s just six tracks.
Derivative? Yes. Well written? At times. Match that with the band’s obvious enthusiasm and musicianship.
But it’s the ballads that win the day.
Both are sketched around a romantic piano refrain, but each one is different. ‘I Won’t Give Up’ seems like a fairly standard melodic rock ballad until a minor key bridge takes into a slick chorus, leading further to a beautifully reined back guitar solo. Classy.
Even that track is pushed into the background by ‘Drifted’. Again the piano intro, this time more dramatic, as is the spine tingling orchestral arrangement. Singer Samuel Thapa kept back his best vocals for this one, which sound amazingly tense and vibrant, hitting the stratospherically high notes with purpose, not just for effect.
So again, a mixed bag. A way to go, but this debut is a good start. ***
Review by Brian McGowan
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.
Next session: Sunday 1 December
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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024
ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
RIOGHAN Hands (Inverse Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)
Featured Albums w/c 11 November 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)
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