I first came across Rival Sons in 2011 when they played the Jagermeister stage at Sonisphere and I remember being blown away by their performance and now five years on big things are happening for the band as they are gearing up to release their firth studio album ‘Hollow Bones’ in June and to coincide with the album release they are heading out on tour covering many festivals such as Download and Rock Am Ring and then they continue touring supporting the mighty Black Sabbath after being handpicked by Black Sabbath to support them with Ozzy Osbourne quoting that they are the best band he has heard in a long time.
First things first with the band’s new album ‘Hollow Bones’ is the outstanding artwork which saw the band team up with artist Martin Wittfooth a man who has an outstanding talent of painting animals in a psychedelic way which is absolutely spot on for ‘Hollow Bones’ as the band have gone out and created a truly experimental psychedelic rock ‘n roll album which gets better and better on each listen.
The album opens with ‘Hollow Bones Pt1’ a song which has a lot going for itself, the song is a near 3minute masterpiece and is one of the best opening tracks I have heard on an album in a very long time, everything from the fuzzy riffs, bouncy bass lines, sharp drumming and strong vocals from Jay Buchanan are spot on and the screams of “Whoaaaah” from Jay add dynamics to the song and is certain to be the sing-a-long moment by the fans on the live circuit.
‘Tied Up’ opens with some groovy baselines and guitar riffs that are so pleasing on the ear and as soon as Jay Buchanan’s vocals come in things tone down slightly instrumentally but within 30seconds the song is brought fully to life with lots of groove and infectious sounds as the band go down a soothing bluesy route.
‘Thundering Voices’ is a fantastic track which opens with fuzzy guitar riffs and is catchy as hell full of groove and experimental twists and turns, vocally things are more mellow with Jay Buchanan showing a slightly different side to his vocals whilst instrumentally the band take us on a Led Zepplin route.
‘Baby Boy’ is more of a straight up rock n’ roll number where Jay Buchanan totally shines with his vocals, singing out “Here comes a baby boy with a gun in his hand” and lots of “woaaaaah’s”, instrumentally the song is spot on with the whole band shining with solid guitar riffs, basslines and drum beats which stand out in a positive way.
‘Pretty Face’ is well worth a listen just for the explosive chorus. ‘Fade Out’ is an eerie sounding blues number with lots of start and stop moments and overall is such a powerful listen. ‘Hollow Bones Pt2’ is an total masterpiece, the song runs for nearly 7minutes and takes a bit of time to get going but once it does it is pure bliss to your ears as Rival Sons jam their way through one of the most progressively amazing songs they have created to date and I am sure longer running heavier bands like Mastodon and Tool could get some tips here.
The album comes to a close with the stripped back emotionally driven ‘All That I Want’ where the instrumental work is really stripped to a minimum as Jay Buchanan takes centre stage which his strong vocals which sound quite haunting in places making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
‘Hollow Bones’ is easily the album of Rival Sons career so far and is an album that must of took a lot of planning and a lot of skills to create, it is crazy to see how the band have come on since I first saw them on the live circuit 5 years ago and they are guaranteed to gain a lot of fans worldwide across the summer as they support Black Sabbath on their farewell tour which could also help ‘Hollow Bones’ become the biggest selling Rival Sons album to date.
5/5
Review by Trigger
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