Source: Album Artwork
Glasgow’s Attica Rage have been throwing down ‘heavy rock’ since way, way back in 2003 (well, this incarnation anyway) so it’s surprising that Warheads Ltd is only their fourth full-length offering. So, with a four-year wait since the previous 88mph, have they dropped a bomb with this new record?
The long and short of it is, no. No they haven’t. Despite having done this for so long, and the odd interesting musical flourish, the band fail to punch through amateur status to make it into the realms of the serious contender. ‘Beyond The 45’ opens strongly enough, big solid chords and a chugging build up, a slight (and fitting) Celtic flavour to the riffs and rhythms. The repeating guitar vamp gets used a little too much, and when the vocals come in they’re a little bit rough around the edges. The kick drum is pleasingly weighty, and despite a decent dual-guitar lock in, it’s a little rambling and a little messy.
‘Falling Down’ is Clutch-esque with it’s bluesy licks and decent grooves, but even with its’ skipping kick-drums and stabs of angular riffing it’s a little schmaltzy and a little too ‘verse-chorus-verse’ in structure. The title track is a slick exercise in mid-paced swagger, but loses points for sleazy, simplistic riffs and seeing the band try to pull off every ‘hard rock’ trick in the book. ‘El Chupacabra’ is probably the album’s zenith, tasty, spiraling riffs, a driving pace, a stompy groover that doesn’t lean on the vocals and lets the riffs do the talking.
‘All Summer Long’ is far too cheesy in its’ attempts to be uplifting and melodic. ‘Lost In Memory’ is promising initially, with meandering, wistful guitars, but squanders this by being far too saccharine. ‘Into The Ether’ is fittingly spacey, lots of echoing chords, a dizzying bass run, interesting despite slightly clumsy guitar layering.
If you’ve stuck it out with the album this long, we commend you. We just couldn’t stomach the final tracks, because although the band execute them with an ardent belief and an unwavering sense of fun, only those truly committed to the hard rock cause will find this record enjoyable. For anyone else, it’s a case that you’ve heard this all before, and heard it better, down your local on open mic night. Warhead Ltd is just a little too limited.
