New Singles From Blackwood
Blackwood is a hard rock band with passion. There's a difference between a bunch of musicians playing for fun and a collective of enigmatic artists. Blackwood is comprised of talented musicians who fall in the latter category.
That's obvious from the opening moments of “Inundated.” This sizzling rock banger emerges with a distorted, rapidly-strummed electric guitar riff from Keith White. It sets the tone with a real ear-worm of a guitar piece. And then things only escalate to scorching sonic heights from there. Vocalist Chris O'Brien has a magnetic singing style. There's a raw guttural quality to his voice. It manages to soar above the heavy rock instrumentation, taking prominence in the song, which is always an impressive feat with chaotic, loud rock instrumentation -- some singers do better than others in this regard. "Inundated" also has an incredibly catchy chorus. The descending vocal hook and riff combine to create musical magic. There's also a brutal breakdown at the end of the track too; O'Brien's vocals screech more passionately, and each strummed power chord seems to carry even greater weight.
"Train" is a slower rock tune, but no less electrifying. It's driven by Steve Burgess' steady, grounding drum beat and mesmerizing, psychedelic riffs from both Chris O'Brien and Keith White. David Dicks' bass rhythm helps the piece to glide groovily through the first segment of the song, but things entirely switch up after the initial instrumental passage. Chugging power chords underpin O'Brien's soaring vocals in the stark, powerful verses. At times, this band's energy reminds me of greats such as Mastodon -- they definitely deserve recognition for their creative songwriting but, above all else, their musical ability. Even the live performances of their songs are tightly-knit and well-executed.
And then "Lose It All" explodes into view with a booming beat, muted metal-inspired guitar chugs and a piercing lead guitar riff. There's a great loud-quiet dynamic to this tune -- the verses are much gentler than the choruses, allowing room for the instrumentation to breathe. Mostly, it sets the stage for Chris O'Brien's astounding vocals to glide effortlessly atop the stripped-back instrumental. There's a great bass rhythm and plodding drum beat, of course. But the chorus is the most satisfying explosion of sound on the song; roaring guitars, vocals, bass and drums. Every element of the track explodes into chaos during these marvelously melodic rock breakdowns. It's catchy and head-bang-worthy. Another fantastic track.
"Lullaby", as the name might suggest, is something a little slower and more tuneful than the previous songs, but this is still a rock tune. Blackwood simply shows that they can deliver beautiful ballads as well as scorching rock songs. The cleanly-strummed chord progression is lovely, but it's O'Brien's vocal hooks that really lodge themselves in your head. It's really intriguing to hear the band members play in an entirely different style to the previous three songs; they nail that classic rock style just as well as hard rock.