The self titled álbum of ‘Edge of Free’ band based in Los Angeles contains a well-defined but digestible rock sound, which is difficult to lose track even though between the tracks you can find elements like country that will just take you by surprise when you hear them And even when you’re headbanging, you’ll want to shout out YEEEHAAA!
The album consists of 8 tracks that has an A-B-A structure, constant replenishment of the main idea for each theme and reaffirmations of tonality, this is when you realize that there is much that you can do with a minimalist format, get rid of the elaborate artifice which reigns today in the market and actually bring to life an organic sound with some master quality.
For you to have a prior idea of what you’re about to hear, you can feel vibes similar to the MTV Unplugged by KORN and Nirvana and also a Little bit of Metallica. Just to mention some, anyhow this is definitely not something you’ll hear everyday.
John Hussey’s lead guitar has the protagonism, each track counts with a melodic introduction accompanied by arpeggios and an accompanying harmonic guitar that gets into serious business once it makes its appearance. As a ‘plus’, you will not be tormented or bored by the percussion of the whole disc, since it is not so heavy and allows you to listen to the songs in a enjoyable tempo with well-measured and well thought out metrics. Once you’ve enjoyed the aforementioned, the melancholic but also energetic voice of Scott Sneddon comes out to tell the stories contained behind each theme, Neddon sings mostly in the center register of his voice, adding freshness to the sound, this makes it Easy to sing alongside him. Later on he shows off his vocal abilities which, while quite decent, have a range of Sharp-high notes quite elegant and powerful, as if a tiger could roar in tune, belted notes and Sneddon’s falsetto will make you want to climb the top of the world.
Tracks from the album:
1) Blood Eagle is the theme that introduces the album, and anticipates the atmosphere that will be created during this experience. You have an organic sound that goes from acoustic rock until it dilutes to full rock. The structure is modal and quite simple, the highlight of the song is in the harmonized voice of Scott Sneddon in the choirs and Hussey’s guitar riffs at the ending.
2) Soul of your grace, once again we have an acoustic intro, sober and serious, accompanied by a hoarse voice of Sneddon that then brings the house down with a falsetto executed to give you the chills, the keyboards in this particular track will draw your attention.
3) Pony, is the band’s current promotional single, the first speed-tempo song you’ll hear inside the album, first you’ll think about that 1987 Aerosmith and then… Surprise! The country style makes its breakout, you will want to grab and tune your banjo and rock out with it after hearing this.
4) Higher, after deploying energy from the previous track this one will relax you, this theme is not far from the first two tracks of the production, the first thing you hear is the main idea of the theme at the beginning which is repeated between the first and the second verses.
5) In my time, it is the first track to contain a small orchestration, the violin adds a melancholic touch resulting in a good flavor to this particular song, academic musicians will appreciate this one.
6) Autumn, as soon as you hear it, you can perfectly imagine the season of the pumpkins and the golden sunsets. A rock-country ballad that will make you feel homesick and get back to your roots, this is material that would be perfectly suitable for the soundtracks of some indie film.
7) Edge of free, just to make a statement, this is old school y’all. You will travel back to the 90’s and you will wonder what Metallica would have sounded like if they have made an acoustic live. Once again you’ll be amazed by the brief orchestration and this is where Scott Sneddon shows you more of his vocal abilities and you will simply have no doubts about it.
8) Pushing the needle, some will think at first impression that they will be listening ‘I heard the voice of Jesus’ it has not started well just when the track bring those Metallica vibes once again, this is the closing theme of the production and not for less, with Pushing the needle Edge of free go out the big door, an amazing track with a well thought out musical speech, ‘surprising’ is the word that would define this particular track.
By Jose Carlos
