The
band Stealing Axion offers up a curious musical fusion. On the one hand, with
its sometimes rough lead vocals, it sounds like a modern heavy metal band.
However, musically, this group’s instrumental approach is far more in line with
a progressive rock band. In some cases, the vocals alternate between hard rock
singing, and smooth, progressive vocalizing. Furthermore, Phil Willmarth’s
vibrating bass line during “Everything or Nothing” sounds like something out of
a Korn song, yet the rest of the track isn’t anything like that Bakersfield
metal icon.
Moments is this Pacific Northwest
quartet’s first album, and it truly stands out from the musical pack. After
forming in 2009 and self-recording an EP in 2010, this act has come a long way
as Moments is a very professional
sounding album. The guitar work on “47 Days Later,” in particular, is speedy,
yet not in a showing off sort of way. The music these four players create
together has grandeur to it that you just don’t usually hear in typical hard
rock music. It’s as though they dearly love heavy metal, yet they’re also far
too ambitious to merely crank out monster metal riffs.
Perhaps
what separates Stealing Axion’s music from typical progressive rock is the fact
that there are no synths or keyboard parts included on this disc. Instead, all
of these sounds are created with the standard hard rock elements of guitar,
bass and drums. The guitar solo on “The Unwanted Gift,” with its slightly
Spanish guitar feel, is especially enjoyable. The song’s vocal part is a duet,
of sorts, between the harsh and smooth singing. These singers do not sound like
they’re competing, however. Rather, it’s as though they’re revealing two sides
of the same coin.
Chances
are good you won’t hear an album much like Stealing Axion’s Moments in a long time, so if you’re
tired of the same old thing, this fascinating release is something fresh and
new.
4/5
Stars
Key
Tracks: “47 Days Later,” “Unwanted Gift,” “Everything or Nothing”
Dan MacIntosh MuzikReviews.com Contributor
December 15, 2012
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