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Metal/Prog Metal CD Reviews

The Giraffes

Usury

Review by Gary Hill

Perhaps these guys don’t fit tightly under the heavy metal banner. However, the bulk of the songs here have a lot of old Black Sabbath in the mix. That works for me to put them there, then. These guys manage to create a sound that’s both fresh and rooted in classic rock music. They bring in some prog rock, jazz and more, yet maintain a fierce heaviness. Perhaps even more impressive, they pull that off while still bringing a groove and keeping it accessible. That’s a rare combination. It’s also something that makes this set really special. It should be noted that they do earn a bit of a parental advisory for lyrical content.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016  Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
Blood Will Run

The bass starts this, and the vocals come over the top. It calls to mind Cream for certain as it works forward with just those two things. There is definitely an old school Black Sabbath sound, too. After the first vocal movement the arrangement fills out just a bit and we’re even more along the lines of both of those bands. When the super heavy guitar joins, the Black Sabbath sound is cemented. The multi-layered vocal arrangement, though is beyond Sabbath comparisons. There are definitely more hints of Cream, here, too. The fast paced section that comes in later is very much Sabbath-like as well. There are hints of King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” at times, too. This is just a cool song with some incredibly classic sounds. I love the guitar solo on this thing

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Fast paced, this is a fierce rocker. It definitely has that Black Sabbath element at play. There are things like King’s X in the mix, too. This is a bit odd, but also smoking hot.
Product Placement Song
There is a lot of classic rock built into this beast. Still, it’s got plenty of Black Sabbath, too. I can hear more King’s X and perhaps a bit of Grand Funk Railroad. It’s very much a stoner metal sound, but with more of a fast groove to it.
Washing Machine
Super heavy, this is part Electric Wizard, part Black Sabbath and part King Crimson. Yes, that’s a weird combination, but this lumbering beast manages to pull it all together into a smoking hot and unique metal sound. It turns incredibly heavy around the two and a half mark. Then it works its way through some unusual changes.
White Jacket
If anything here doesn’t fit under metal, this is it. It comes with a very jazz-like jam. It has a lot of other things (like world music) going on, too. If anything, this one might be prog rock. That said, there are some moments that land more on the metal end of the spectrum. Whatever you call it, though, this is creative and particularly effective.
How It Happened To Me
More of a straight ahead rock and roll sound permeates this. Still, there is enough heavy crunch to keep it in the vein of metal. It’s perhaps more like King’s X than it is anything else, though. It does work out further down the road into a full on prog rock styled jam. It’s hard rocking and awesome as it does so, though. There are great vocal parts, and some killer melodic guitar soloing is all over this. At just over eight minutes of music, it’s also the most extensive piece here.
 
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