Band: The Virginmarys
Release: King Of Conflict
Release Date: Out Now!
What can be said about The Virginmarys? My first experience of them was supporting Ash on their ‘Free All Angels’ anniversary tour and they stormed their way through the set, becoming the 1st band I’ve ever had to ask the venue for earplugs for at the same time. It’s not so much that the band were loud but that their drummer had a kick like a mule injected with the stem cells of one of John Bonham.
And now with their first LP the band are ready to explode, in fact they already have to an extent in the states and Japan where the album is doing the rounds, and it’s easy to see why.
The album kicks off with the brilliantly bluesy riff of ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ before storming into full on garage rock out territory. From that moment there really is no let up. This is literally the sound of a Corvette rolling down that ol’ route 66. It oozes energy, sex and passion and isn’t that the ingredients for all the best rock albums ever made.
Yes the vocals could be better, but when this album has blues ferocity that’s not perhaps been seen since the White Stripes it really shouldn’t matter.
Their literally isn’t a weak track on this album, and if you find one I will write back to you questioning your status as a rock fan while detailing the merits of every track on the album.
However I will make one small criticism. The album could benefit from slower songs to give the hard and heavy numbers that are the whole album more edge. As things stand you get very complacent with the hard and heavy style as you listen to it. Just a little Led Zeppelin style discipline would help the album to have some light as well as shade and bring it up into the pantheon of classic rock greats.
Here’s hoping for next time!
9/10
Reviewer: Martin-john McDonnell
