A killer new album from Howling Mountain comes through with a heavy and forceful drive that really hits a lot of sweet spots in any kind of heavy rock music from grunge to alternative rock, even punk and classic hard rock or all touched on during this release and it all comes with this massive character that just hits you like a sucker punch to the gut and surprises you with memorable hooks that stick around in your brain for hours after the songs have ended.
The All Talk, No Play album is delivered with this intensity that makes you feel like these songs were recorded live-on-the-floor and all the players are just feeding off of each other's energies the entire time.
I could be completely wrong about the whole live-on-the-floor thing of course, but either way, it makes you want to see this live in your face because if the energy is captured on record this well, then seeing them alive must be intense.
The bass tones are what make everything feel punk rock at times along with some of the drumming of course and the guitars have this amazing sonic presence to them that just thrash and wail whenever they want to but it's the vocals that reach out and slap you in the face because they are so animated and come with so much great attitude that it feels almost like a classic riot rock band.
Almost all of these tracks have such impressive choruses that can at times feel super anthemic and pack in that heaviness the way it's supposed to and the whole record has this outstanding blend of edginess and color that both complement each other throughout the release.
This is one of my favorite aspects about it because you have this sort of grittiness at times and this grunginess at others, you have this righteous punk sometimes, and you have this sort of ferociousness that comes through and then boom, you have this melodic gigantic chorus that's super catchy.
The drumming on this record is just ridiculous and gives the whole record this element of drive that pushes the envelope just enough to really hit like a sucker punch to the gut.
You can hear so many of these songs on the radio because they all just have that element to them, and a lot of times it has to do with those choruses and hooks that deliver a radio-friendly taste.
There are a few surprises around the corners of this record which I thought was outstanding and this is 100% the kind of record that you listen to from beginning to end.
I know, I know. Who has the time right?
We all do so stop it.
Listening to a few tracks off this record is awesome but listening to the full album gives you this bigger spectrum of what it has to offer and what the band can pull off plus, if you like one song, you're going to like pretty much all of them.
This band gave me something that I think I've missed for a little bit and that hints towards an almost nostalgic undertone for me as they do indeed touch on that classic '90s underground alternative rock thrashiness that I grew up with.
Pop this record on, and turn it up because the ladder it goes, the better it gets.