{"id":21102,"date":"2014-03-28T00:00:57","date_gmt":"2014-03-28T00:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=21102"},"modified":"2014-08-06T01:20:26","modified_gmt":"2014-08-06T01:20:26","slug":"album-review-aug-be-careful-what-you-wish-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-aug-be-careful-what-you-wish-for\/","title":{"rendered":"AUG – Be Careful What You Wish For… (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUG
Be Careful What You Wish For…<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nArrt (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 9.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Aug is an American hard rock band that have appeared on the same stage as Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns, White Lion, Dokken, Joe Lynn Turner, Blue \u00d6yster Cult and countless others. And with these details on their CV I expected a full-throttle opus of driving riffs, exemplary vocals and catchy tunes… and boy these guys have not disappointed!<\/p>\n

Now I love metal magician Ozzy Osbourne, but the poor fellow hasn\u2019t released a top-notch album for a long, long time, yet Aug\u2019s latest chunk of melodic is the album the Ozzman could only dream of making today.<\/p>\n

Pumped by hard-hitting percussion, solid riffs, and vocals that even Ozzy would be impressed with, Aug\u2019s new eight-track opus has to be one of the year\u2019s best, and what better way to kickstart an album than by the supreme title track.<\/p>\n

Again I have to refer to Ozzy, because this cranked up lump of catchy heavy rock sounds as if it was plucked straight from one of Ozzy Osbourne\u2019s classic albums; it really is that good. Vocally, Aug is also very much in that Ozzy mode \u2013 clear, domineering tones boasting an almost whining quality, and backed with an absolutely killer riff. In fact, this track could well be on everyone\u2019s lips by the time the summer is over. \u201cWelcome into my world, welcome to my dreams, I can change your life… give you everything you need\u201d<\/em> bellows guitarist Anthony \u201cAug\u201d Augostine, as Tommy Shauger\u2019s leads playfully worm their way around the percussion of Russ Latamer and the bass trundles of Rich Tanis. The whole feel of the track is Ozzy at his best and I can\u2019t get enough of it, finding myself lapping at the speakers like a thirsty dog begging for more.<\/p>\n

Now, Aug isn\u2019t that new on the scene; the musicians have been around in some form for a couple of decades on the New York \/ New Jersey scene. The band formed in 2011 and released their debut album, 20 Years In Hell<\/em>, in the same year. But for me this new opus is the one that\u2019s going to get heads turning and ears pricked, and if it doesn\u2019t then I\u2019ll literally give up on the metal scene.<\/p>\n

These guys aren\u2019t just one-hit wonders either. \u2018Little Green Fairy\u2019 comes riding in like a charging boogie anthem \u2013 it\u2019s Black Sabbath<\/a> at its most frolicking, I guess. And then there\u2019s the fantastic \u2018Light Of Day\u2019 with its cool opening riff, hefty skin slaps and a killer solo \u2013 it\u2019s traditional metal firing on all cylinders, this time nodding to the early Ozzy years, and I just can\u2019t fault it.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Devil\u2019s Rejects\u2019 is one of the album\u2019s hardest moments; bass and drum combine to form a crushing vortex of power before the nodding guitar chug enters. This is pure traditional doom metal; the sort of grey haze formed from the ashes of Sabbath and which made the likes of Pentagram, Witchfinder General etc. so potent. It\u2019s as if this band doesn\u2019t have to try, because the sound they have spawned just feels so natural, even with its strong Ozzy Osbourne influence.<\/p>\n

\u2018Coming Home\u2019 is another burning metal rocker that leaves a trail of black smoke across the sky, while \u2018Forever Goodbye\u2019 has a hint of reflection and melancholy as \u201cAug\u201d yawns, \u201cSo was I everything that you thought I\u2019d be? Memories of the times we\u2019ve shared still haunting me. Cos\u2019 when I look into your eyes I just see an empty glare\u201d<\/em>… and then the riff hits. If only Tony Iommi hadn\u2019t concentrated so much on regurgitation for Black Sabbath\u2019s 13<\/em><\/a> opus (2013), because on this occasion Shauger has come up with a beast of a lick that will live long in my memory. Having been a fan of doom metal kings Trouble for so long, I\u2019m truly spellbound by Aug\u2019s latest offering, which has certainly filled the gap since Eric Wagner\u2019s departure from the lords of Chicago.<\/p>\n

I really cannot praise this album enough. \u2018All I Can Be\u2019 is sure to cause earthquakes as it rumbles along, but if it\u2019s surprises you\u2019re after then look no further than the closing cover of Toto\u2019s 1982 classic \u2018Africa\u2019. It\u2019s clear that these guys can do no wrong and remain versatile within their framework of weighty hard rock. I\u2019m always sceptical when it comes to covers, but Aug are able to adapt to the dynamics of the song. Vocally, \u201cAug\u201d is within himself until that booming chorus, and I\u2019m then left rather flabbergasted.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t expecting such a staggeringly brilliant composition. If you don\u2019t purchase this wonderfully fluid and orgasmic recording then it is your loss, believe me.<\/p>\n

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

AUGBe Careful What You Wish For… Arrt (2014)Rating: 9.5\/10 Aug is an American hard rock band that have appeared on the same stage as Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns, White Lion, Dokken, Joe Lynn Turner, Blue \u00d6yster Cult and countless others. And with these details on their CV I expected a full-throttle opus of driving riffs, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1362],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-aug"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21102","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=21102"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21110,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21102\/revisions\/21110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}