{"id":15341,"date":"2013-10-07T00:00:55","date_gmt":"2013-10-07T00:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=15341"},"modified":"2013-11-21T01:33:47","modified_gmt":"2013-11-21T01:33:47","slug":"album-review-spiralarms-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-spiralarms-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"SPIRALARMS – Freedom (2013) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

SPIRALARMS
Freedom<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nSteamhammer (2013)<\/span>
Rating: 5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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SpiralArms are a band I was interested in as soon as I heard that their guitarist, Craig Locicero, used to feature for San Francisco thrashers Forbidden.<\/p>\n

However, SpiralArms\u2019 second record is far removed from Bay Area thrash, but it\u2019s still an opus that should please all fans of old fashioned rock \u2019n\u2019 roll as well as anyone who digs stoner metal, blues-infused metal and doom \u2019n\u2019 roll, and despite the air of familiarity on Freedom<\/em> there is enough punch and kick to affect even the most hardened of sceptics.<\/p>\n

I was first introduced to this band via the video \u2018Dropping Like Flies\u2019 and whilst impressed by its hooky grooves I just couldn\u2019t rid my ears of the strong Corrosion Of Conformity influence \u2013 and having worshipped Corrosion Of Conformity\u2019s momentous offerings such as Blind<\/em> (1991) and, even more so, Deliverance<\/em> (1994), I felt that SpiralArms were never going to kneel before such a throne, let alone take it.<\/p>\n

The whole feel of this opus sums up the modern metal scene as so many bands are trawling through their record collections for inspiration, and yet time and time again are coming up with a sound that we\u2019ve heard so many times before. Black Sabbath<\/a>, Soundgarden, southern rock, it\u2019s all here \u2013 and when blended together it makes for quite a summery and pleasant listen, but rarely anything more. Again I revert back to the loose groove of \u2018Dropping Like Flies\u2019 with its fuzzy psychedelia infused laziness, the sort you\u2019ll swear you\u2019ve heard previously.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say this six-piece outfit are merely a derivative combo, because with their experience they\u2019ve managed to insert a few nice, unexpected ingredients into their dirty river of sound, but whether it\u2019s enough to enable them to stand out from the crowd only time will tell.<\/p>\n

The likes of Detroit\u2019s Dirty Americans have used this tried and tested formula to no real avail, and the driving jarring beat of \u2018Hold Me To The Sky\u2019 just feels so tired and leaves me thirsty for something not so southern influenced. The 70s weren\u2019t the greatest time unless you were a devotee to flared rock \u2019n\u2019 roll with progressive overtones, and so Freedom<\/em> comes across as a band that wants to be different but one which cannot escape its influences.<\/p>\n

Tim Narducci\u2019s vocals, however harmonious, are nothing out of the ordinary as SpiralArms lumber through ten sun-baked groove monsters ranging from the swirling twang of \u2018Exit 63\u2019 to the unnecessary cover of Black Sabbath\u2019s \u2018Tomorrow\u2019s Dream\u2019. One may not be able to argue with Ron Redeen\u2019s concrete drums and the twin guitar lope of Locicero and Anthony Traslavina, but I soon find myself bored of this stoner slab. \u2018Drugs & Alcohol\u2019 and \u2018Dealer\u2019 again reek of Corrosion Of Conformity, circa the rather mundane drools of America\u2019s Volume Dealer<\/em> (2000), but if I continue to hear any more drug-fueled, stoned-psych hippy rock I think I\u2019m going to scream.<\/p>\n

Such a sound may all be done for the sake of good ol\u2019 fashioned rock \u2019n\u2019 roll but it\u2019s really starting to grate, and the only respite here comes from the soulful tones of the mellow \u2018Lovers Leap\u2019 and the organ-drenched title track. It just seems as if these types of bands \u2013 clearly high on their influences \u2013 box themselves into a corner when it comes to aping their heroes. I don\u2019t expect any earth-shattering bouts of originality from anyone anymore, but when the music is so derivative I can only shake my head in disappointment at another album that seems intent on disturbing the dust by way of weed-induced southern dullness. Freedom<\/em> is incredibly average.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SPIRALARMSFreedom Steamhammer (2013)Rating: 5\/10 SpiralArms are a band I was interested in as soon as I heard that their guitarist, Craig Locicero, used to feature for San Francisco thrashers Forbidden. However, SpiralArms\u2019 second record is far removed from Bay Area thrash, but it\u2019s still an opus that should please all fans of old fashioned rock […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,823],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-spiralarms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15341"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15345,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15341\/revisions\/15345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}