Bare Bones - Bad Habits (Album Review)
Bare Bones - Bad Habits
Released: 19th May 2017
Lineup
Tom Kennedy // Vocals
James Dean // Guitar
James Clarke // Bass
Chris Blancato // Drums
Chris Breedon // Guitar
Online
Facebook: Bare Bones
Twitter: @BareBonesNoise
Instagram: @BareBonesNoise
Bandcamp: Bare Bones Noise
An insight to our world of online publications/media for the ill-informed, we get thrown hundreds of bands each week who have a new album or video to showcase or a song they want to be heard or published, and at times it's hard to keep up with all of them. But every now and then, an act is given to you that makes you stop what you're doing and devote an hour or two of your time getting to know them. Bare Bones are that new band for me who have been hiding in Sydney and not in my ears and fuck I'm kicking myself for not finding them sooner. Formed in 2012 they have worked their arses off getting recognition, getting signed to Resist Records AND to top it all off, they've got their DEBUT ALBUM released next Friday and it is my pleasure to review the shit out of it for you, them and humanity...
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I1-BEiwNkU&w=853&h=480]
Opening the album is the appropriately titled 'Thick as Thieves' which is thick with heavy riffs, rough screams and headbanging goodness so very fuckin' similar in style to Keith Buckley and the ETID boys... It's almost as if Bare Bones stole (get it? making them thieves!) a leftover song from the Buffalo metalcore act and replicated it, because the comparison between both bands is uncanny. Frontman Tom Kennedy combining both clean screaming and singing complete with guitar solo round up the song and I'm instantly hooked. 'Ravensburg' continues the forward momentum of the album and once again shows the advanced professionalism the band has. I find myself questioning how this is only their debut album when it sounds like they've been doing this for well over a decade. The fun inclusion of what appears to sound like a tambourine rounding out the track is a completely unexpected (but welcomed) delight. 'Deathbed Visions' starts with a very rocking drum focused beat before the rest of the band joins in on what ends up being a catchy as fuck song that makes you want to run around singing the words "I can't stop my head from spinning around and around and around". I dig it. I dig it real good.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_42KxcsIEsY&w=853&h=480]
Banger after banger is all I can think as track #4 'Midnight Climax' begins and it's another fast paced heavy one complete with yet another pretty sick guitar solo, melodic singing and a scream inducing outro that'll have you losing your voice in no time if you belt out the words too. 'Skeleton Key' and 'Strange Brew' roll perfectly from one to the other, if you didn't hear the stop down you could almost be convenience it was the same song still playing for the past 6 minutes. The hardcore rock vibes become heavy rock & roll that toys with each other offering a heavy dose of metal but then stripping it back for an almost classic rock feel. Both angles compliment each other and a smooth transition between the two genres needs to be congratulated... but it's not over yet, that almost southern american rock style comes back again for 'White Knuckles Black Tar' where we're greeted by a large and lengthy scream that only lasts a few seconds, but feels like a lifetime when you try to yell alongside Tom Kennedy's mesmerising vocals. I can't help but think how fun this song would be to play, if only I had stuck to those guitar lessons my parents paid for me to do when I was younger. Its fast, fantastically produced and will definitely get the blood pumping when witnessed live. The tempo lifts and the band bring their A Game for 'The Forgotten Fear and Fury' and as I sit back and listen deeper to the quality of music coming my way, I can hear some inspiration from Keith Buckley's side project The Damned Things which was a very rock & roll/southern rock/metal genre hybrid featuring members of Anthrax, Volbeat and Fall Out Boy for those not in the know. This proved that Bare Bones can't be placed in one category of metal, hardcore or rock for their style. They're like a devon roll... made up of all these off cuts of music, all rolled into one... however they're much more appealing and easy to digest compared to the shitty excuse for food sold in supermarkets.
'Diamond Cutter''s heavy, head bang inducing force brings back the much loved iconic tambourine from earlier and begins the album's slow descent to it's unfortunate but inevitable climax, but not before giving us a few more chances to get out mosh on. 'Heavy Burner' is a song you can't listen to just once, I had to hit replay on this bad boy three times before moving onto 'Dead Man Walking' which packs a big rockin' punch to the sack (or titties) that makes you want to start a circle pit and smash onlookers with your flailing limbs until the cops are forced to arrest you for excessive metalling... if you're lucky. 'Copper in the Cast' ups the ante one last brutal time which I can assure you, will leave you wanting more. Unfortunately, this is it, the album ends after this track but the best thing about modern technology is the ability to start it all over again which you could and should.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M5PruYt16U&w=853&h=480]
Bare Bones. Well done. There is nothing else I can say that you don't already know about this album. The band has created a masterpiece that needs to be heard and seen live by all those who have a love for heavy music. My sincere Congratulations to you all. You've earned yourselves a new instant fan who (to be self indulgent here) gives this album his 100% tick of approval. Album of the Year material right here!!!
https://twitter.com/brownypaul/status/862161100267282433
Bare Bones - Bad Habits tacklisting
1. Thick as Thieves
2. Ravensburg
3. Deathbed Visions
4. Midnight Climax
5. Skeleton Key
6. Strange Brew
7. White Knuckles Black Tar
8. The Forgotten Fear and Fury
9. Diamond Cutter
10. Heavy Burner
11. Dead Man Walking
12. Copper in the Cast
Rating: 9/10
Bad Habits is out Friday May 19th via Resist Records. Pre-Order here
Browny (@brownypaul)
