Bands from America no longer have a monopoly on groovy, dirty southern rock, because modern heavy metal with a southern rock touch also comes from the German city of Munster! The grooving quartet "Abandon Hope" certainly comes from the southernmost corner of the city. Somewhere between the local whiskey distillery and a campfire site, where you can hang out together into the balmy summer night, unpacking the guitar to the sound of chirping crickets. The campfire is then quickly flattened and the acoustic guitar smashed on the tree. Because "Abandon Hope" rock and that powerfully. There's a lot of the deep, sombre, heavy-metal, eschatological whiskey bliss of the "Black Label Society". With "Abandon Hope" the band name already sounds gloomy and so is the atmosphere that the album "Settle The Score" spreads.
Although the band has been active for more than ten years, the current work «Settle The Score» is only their second release alongside the EP «Existence». And the debut «The Endless Ride» is already eight years old . Generally speaking, «Settle The Score» is a well-produced disc that needs a few listens, as it gets a bit confusing at first. You can't get rid of the thought that several bands might come up trumps here, because influences from Zakk Wylde, Life of Agony, Danzig, Soundgarden, Pantera, Alice in Chains, Clutch, Orange Goblin and Co. cannot be denied. But these are not the benchmark, but merely the source of inspiration for the band. Because «Abandon Hope» certainly doesn't reach the quality of these greats, but they always achieve the special effect of getting stuck on a song and going off.
Abandon Hope - Sally (official video)
On "Settle The Score" the four musicians set off as if they still had scores to settle. In general, Waik's varied guitar work on this album is very pleasing. The moaning, roaring riffs sound dirty, but flow "like oiled" and whip the music forward properly. Drummer Alex's skins are stretched tight and singer Hommel sings pleasantly unfriendly. Admittedly, it takes a bit of getting used to, as the first listening impression makes it appear "unclean", as if it weren't hitting the notes correctly. As with music, the focus here is probably more on transporting emotions and the necessary expression of the voice than on always hitting or keeping the “right” pitch. But I can understand if that reduces the enjoyment of the music of «Abandon Hope» for one or the other.
Already in the opener "Right Or Not" the vocals in the chorus take off to an upward swing. «Catharsis» also starts out beguilingly steamrolling and later varies in density and pressure when it becomes melodic in the vocals and also in the solo lines. «Jackyll & Daniels» also starts wildly in a solemn, atmospheric chorus and at the very end the song freezes like lava getting cold. The balancing act works best with «The Core», a highlight of the album: first a neck-breaking headshake, then hallucinatory-calm, in a grungy, tough gloom. Later you drive down a bit further and add deep piano sounds. So Abandon Hope master complexity. So «Sweet Surrender» really pushes the tempo and «The City» makes a lot of noise and tugs at the suspense curve in a heavy-doomy way in the chorus. The two pieces, for which videos were also published, are positively striking: "Sally" is a kind of "power ballad" and could also have been on a Nevermore disc. And then there's the title track "Settle The Score", which is slowly being unpacked...
Abandon Hope - Settle The Score
The bottom line is that the album sounds too often to be expected once you've figured out the direction and the overall oomph doesn't come close to bands like the aforementioned Black Label Society. Still a fine thing and you can hear from the guys that this music is exactly what they want to do. «Abandon Hope» do a lot more right than wrong here. The music rocks hard out of the speakers, the sound is earthy but not too muddy. The songs are varied without appearing stylistically arbitrary. The music addresses the emotional center in the stomach much more than the fine synapses in the brain. But it just feels right and good. «Settle The Score» is an album that focuses on listening fun.
You can do the album buy in our shop.
Tracklist:
- Right or not
- Catharsis
- tower oil
- The Core
- Settle the Score
- Jackyl & Daniels
- Memories
- The City
- Sally
- Sweet Surrender
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"Dravens Tales from the Crypt" has been enchanting for over 15 years with a tasteless mixture of humor, serious journalism - for current events and unbalanced reporting in the press politics - and zombies, garnished with lots of art, entertainment and punk rock. Draven has turned his hobby into a popular brand that cannot be classified.
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