The Banner - Frailty [CD]

FERRET MUSIC

June 11, 2008, 11:31 PM

This is a dark album, with the key subject matter based on a realisation that everything you had, you don’t and everything you thought you were good at, your not. With this headset in place, it’s easy to understand where vocalist Joey Southside gets all his raw aggression from, screaming like an absolute banshee from start to finish. The album manages to sustain its dark edge all the way through, even though it takes a slight contrast on tracks like “Welcome F***ers” and “Dusk”, bringing in a kind Murder By Death style sound.

It’s these little bits that add a real contrast to the album and give it that little bit of extra interest by giving you something you didn’t quite expect to hear. One thing I really like about the album is that the vocals are so punishing but also that they know when to leave them out. It’s so easy for a band to over do it by adding in to many extra bits and trying to have everything playing at the same time, trying to be loud and brutal all the way through.

This album is fast, heavy and sharp with a very unsubtle, in your face way about it. There is also enough beat changes and riff variation to make it very easy to listen to, and contrast so that you can find multiple points of interest throughout each tune. Some tracks are more intricate than others and some so short that you feel like you’ve just been slapped round the face with a giant trout and you can’t help but love it.

This is a great album and fans will no doubt be rejoicing at the constant increase in the bands ability to create great music. So if you like your music hard, dark and fast with a little bit of colouration and imagination thrown in, Frailty will not disappoint you.