CD REVIEW: Tribe on the rise
REVIEW: Tribe: Pray For Calm...Need The Chaos (album)
IF the history of the Harrogate music scene over the past 20-25 years is ever written (and if it is, it will be one long on talent and short on international success), the debut album by Tribe will be one of its few, true landmarks.
As already correctly assessed by none other than Tribe fan Bruce Dickinson himself, there's a lot more going on here than power metal, though there are hints of that, certainly.
Such complexity is the result of this experienced set of musicians' massive range of influences, the top three being as follows:
1 Classic 70s rock and rock-pop (Deep Purple to Queen).
2. Early 80s New Wave of British Heavy Metal (Iron Maiden to Judas Priest), and late 80s poodle hair rock (Motley Crue to Guns n Roses).
3. Late 80s thrash metal (Metallica to Megadeath).
Chuck in touches of 90s and Noughties prog metal (Dream Theater to King's X) to the mix, not to forget lead guitarist Nick Dunne's unfashionable but genuinely-felt affection for leftfield prog-pop mavericks such as Frank Zappa and Todd Rundgren, and the one word that leaps out is ambition.
The only elements missing from the list are death metal, metal core and punk. Tribe have clearly have heard of all three, it's just the growling and the howling and love of noise for its own sake is almost entirely absent.
Tribe want to produce music that grabs the heart with songs that stick in the brain - even as you're banging your head.
Thankfully, they've got the tunes, lyrics, instrumental ability and, crucially, vocal power to pull it all off.
Hooks pour out of every pore, inventive guitar lines weave in and out of big, slamming riffs and fantastical lyrical flights of featuring "ten thousand wingspans away from your love" are balanced by pithy observations on the state of the modern world such as "dead-eyed men sing rule Britannia.".
Best of all, Paul Kettley's singing shows itself up to the challenge of in a million metal music situations, from belters to ballads, whether it's high-pitched vibrato, throaty rasp or warmly emotional.
Such is the scale of Tribe's achievement on Pray For Calm. . .Need The Chaos it's almost impossible to pick a favourite track off the album.
One day it's one of chief songwriter Nick Dunne's sophisticated, mini-epics with pastoral piano intros such as impressively slow-burning opening track Head or the magnificently fruity Ghost Ballet, the next it's one of long-term colleague and old friend Grant Kirkhope's more direct out and out rock stompers such as Absolution or, my personal favourite, Words That Kill.
Crackling with tightly-focussed energy, Tribe's debut album is a glorious double statement of intent.
Like the second side of Abbey Road by The Beatles, it says we can do anything and everything we want.
Like Rainbow's classic Rainbow Rising album it also says this isn't a case of showing off - this is deadly serious, move over or get run over.
It also says Paul was right all these years ago when he used to big himself up at venues like now long-gone Duchess in Leeds in one of his previous outfits Creed, I think it was.
As helmed by successful producer Sascha Paeth, formerly guitarist with Heaven's Gate, there is not a moment's flab on this stunning album.
Which is one thing I might be tempted to revisit in future. So strong are the tunes, it's possible Tribe may have actually gone a little too far in their ruthless determination to snuff out any hint of cheese.
A little extra keyboards or harmonies at the key moment might just ram home the message to anyone out there who there who foolishly refuses to join the tribe.
Graham Chalmers
Pray For Calm. . .Need The Chaos is on sale now from HMV Harrogate, Music House on Cheltenham Parade, Harrogate, Pear Records in Knaresborough or via Amazon or iTunes.
http://www.myspace.com/tribeband
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Friday 25 May 2012
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