Lovesick Saints Dia De Los Muertos Review by Gary Hill
Punk or emo is probably the best description of this, but there are a lot of other elements at play. A lot of the music here seems related to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). This is entertaining and probably recommended most to fans of Green Day and bands like that.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2014 Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Dia De Los Muertos
After an intro that consists mostly of a child’s voice (in Spanish) kind of in the distance, this powers out into a smoking hot guitar riff. It feels part punk rock and part NWOBHM. This is great stuff with a lot of energy and style. This instrumental is also fun.
Sick and Broken Bass starts this one off and the punk rock remains. There is more of an emo vibe to this number, but there is enough meat to make that work.
One Foot in the Grave The guitar riff that opens this definitely has some of that NWOBHM sound to it. There is almost a bit of an AC/DC element at play at times on this song, too. The distorted vocals and the whole mix, though, brings definite punk rock to the plate. I’d almost consider this a metal tune, though. The chorus, though, is a bit more emo.
War Story This starts with bagpipes (or synthesized bagpipes) playing “Amazing Grace.” Then the guitar kicks in and we’re off in another metallic punk tune that has some emo in the mix.
This Ain’t It
Although this still has plenty of energy and crunch, it’s musically a bit more of a melodic number. There is a real punk edge to the vocals, though. This is a powerhouse in a lot of ways.
Empty More or less a power ballad, this has metal and emo built into it, as you might expect. There are also some hints of progressive rock, though. It’s one of the most effective cuts here and a great way to end the set. It does get a parental advisory on the lyrics, though.
