BLAK29
BLAK29 - “The Waiting”
By Dark Starr
This is quite a unique project. It has a lot of metal in the mix, but it also has raunch and roll, Goth sounds, catchy hooks and more. Steve Zing of DANZIG/SAMHAIN fame is one of the two people who are the masterminds behind this project. There are definitely songs here that sound quite a bit like DANZIG, too. Dan Tracey wrote and produced the entire album along with Zing.
There are some notable guests here including Jyrki 69 and DANZIG/PRONG guitarist Tommy Victor. My only complaint about this disc is that it does start to feel a little redundant at times. It's not enough to really get in the way of it working, but it demotes from pure greatness to just the level of "really, really good." I think that it might be stronger if they had pruned a few of the songs from the album and saved them for something else.
"Blackout" opens the album, and drums bring this into being. The track works out from there to some seriously mean and catchy metal. I'm reminded to some degree of ALICE COOPER on this thing. On "Destroyer" we get a killer cover of the KINKS tune. It has a bit of a punky edge, but it's definitely metallic, too. I prefer this to the original by a good margin. Then again, I'm not a big KINKS fan.
"Waiting For The Sun To Go Down" is so mean. It's another killer track. There is almost a dramatic LED ZEPPELIN(think "Kashmir") angle to it, but it's also got plenty of DANZIG and more in the mix. It's a fierce and classy tune. Screaming hot and both catchy and fairly fierce, "Go Go Little One" rocks like crazy. The bass on "End Of Days" is so cool. There is a raunch and roll, gritty edge to this. It almost feels like a more metal version of something THE DOORS might have done.
A driving, punky grind is on the menu on "Of Love Of Hate Of Pain." It is another fierce one. With "Bleeding Love" we get another driving rocker that has a lot of that DANZIG kind of thing at play. "The Waiting (A Token Of Your Death)" has more of a Goth vibe to it. It's another strong tune. It has some more of that Danzig vibe, too.
More of a driving metal concept is on the menu on "Don't Mind The Pain." It has some particularly tasty guitar work built into it. Overall it's another cool catchy rocker. "I Am Screaming (But Nobody Hears)" has a real magic and sense of mystery to it, leaning on the cinematic side. It's a slower grind and has some unique bass work. This also has plenty of noisy sound. Yet, it's also melodic and rather art-rock-like. It's an intriguing entry.
The closer is "Long Cool Woman," and they turn the HOLLIES classic into a metal styled jam. There is a definite Goth angle to some of the vocals on it. The song works surprisingly well in this format. It's quite an interesting way to end the album.