Labels: Czar Of Crickets
Review by: Oli Saunders
Claw or, as seems to be more accurate, CLAW is a great name for a band, I can’t believe no one has already taken it. The promo asks “Are you into Mad Max and Megadeth” and whilst I chuckled a bit at the photographs of the band in their post-apocalypse gear, I like the theme. There’s no point just copying Metallica and the like; you need something a bit different. I wonder how they decided who would wear the giant chain of ammo and the binocular glasses.
Onto the music. It’s really fun and catchy. The drumming and, in particular, the double kick pedal works wonders at providing the backdrop for the guitars and doom-laden vocals. They mix in a slow ballad on track five about losing someone. It’s great. The following song ‘Dawn Of A New Era’ starts at mid-pace and then transitions wonderfully into a headbanging number with the guitars going wild. The song then returns to a slightly slower speed but one guitar continues to go for it as the singer whispers beneath. Cue sound effects of the wind whistling. Is it cheesy or genius? I’m not sure but I am making a claw with my hand right now.
I think the above is the high point of the album as from then on it gets a bit samey. At 52 minutes long it is perhaps a little long. Overall though this is a great effort. I appreciate the CDr that’s been thrown in containing artwork and MP3s too.
24th December 2015