09-03-2010Album reviews - The Smoking Hearts
The Smoking Hearts - Pride of Nowhere
The Smoking hearts are a London based punk/hardcore band which resembles a thunderous, unstoppable force. Much like that of a de-railed freight train fuelled by punk rock gang vocals, rock ’n’ roll overtones, hardcore undertones and aggressive metal inspired guitar solos. Despite the fact that they have only been around since 2007, The Smoking Hearts have managed to find their niche very quickly and apparently revel in it. Sticking to DIY punk ethics for their first two singles, ‘’Bloodmoney’’ and ‘’Give Em Hell’’ were self-released and now after only three years of existence they have produced a full length debut album.
‘’Pride of nowhere’’ is the first track on the album and is an extended intro for ‘’Daddy’s little disaster’’ which works well to ease you into the havoc that follows. ’Motorhead’ is the first thing that comes to mind on first listen, mostly because of the main guitar riff but also because you get the first taste of ‘’Lethal’s’’ vocals, which are reminiscent of ‘’Lemmy's’’ cigarette and whiskey stripped voice box. If you prefer your rock ’n’ roll to punk rock then the other tracks which you should find to your liking is ‘’Off the chain’’, ‘’Message in a Molotov’’ and the single ‘’Blood Money’’ which are fast and aggressive, just how rock ’n’ roll should be.
It’s nice to see a band that is able to combine hardcore with ‘’punk ’n ’roll’’ on the same record and ‘’One Eyed drunk’’ is a perfect example of the band’s hardcore/metal tendencies. Firstly, because of the almost militant snare drum/ bass guitar intro and combined with the fast tapping lead guitar solo followed by a melancholy break down which is supported by some pinch harmonics. It all goes together so well and is a very good illustration of the bands diverse sound. ‘’Give ’em the suit’’ screams out to a tune similar to ‘Rancid’ punk, not because the name sounds like ‘’Give ’em the Boot’’ but because of the intro and fast verse riff /vocal combination and distinctive bass line. The lead guitar parts towards the end of the song also echo ’Bad Religion’ lead style which is strong evidence of their punk rock influences. ‘’George street wrestling’’ is a fine example of melodic punk rock, possessing everything you could possibly want from a good progressive punk song including gang backing vocals, awesome lead parts and an addictive chorus which you can’t help but sing along with after giving it just a few listens.
In spite of the somewhat generic feel of the more punk inspired parts on some of the tracks, this is generally a good debut album. The combinations of genres have been moulded together nicely and are pulled off very well, mostly due to the skilled guitar work on every song. The future for The Smoking Hearts looks very bright indeed.
M.W.S.
