Album Review

Axewound - VulturesAxewound – Vultures

Where this super group came from I will never know, but in all fairness they are cropping up all over the place nowadays. This one in particular has me excited, seeing as its Matt Tuck (Bullet for my Valentine), Liam Cormier (Cancer Bats), Mike Kingswood (Glamour of the Kill), Joe Copcutt (ex-Rise to Remain) and Jason Bowld (Pitchshifter). The amount of money I’ve spend on Rise to Remain, Glamour of the Kill, Cancer Bats and Bullet for my Valentine over the years borders on the obsessive, but after being severely disappointed by I Am War after being overly excited for months on end, I am quite weary of listening to this album in case it affects how I feel towards the other acts afterwards.

I needn’t have worried as I am more than impressed with what I’ve heard here, even though it feels very strange to hear Cormier’s vocals on anything other than Cancer Bats material as every time I hear him it just cries out to me. Opener “Vultures” even includes Synyster Gates from Avenged Sevenfold on guest guitars and it’s not the type of song I would associate with any members involved, except for Cormier as this does have a certain feeling to it that links it to Cancer Bats and I have to say it’s mostly in the guitar tones and riffs with “Vultures”. It’s not too similar though it’s more like your straight up aggressive metal, as the album goes on too this begins to fade as “Blood Money and Lies” is like an evil destructive version of Tuck’s main project Bullet For My Valentine.

“Exochrist” when it kicks off you would struggle to believe it wasn’t a new BFMV single, in fact with the exception of Cormier’s vocals that is exactly what it could pass off as just a heavier approach. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying this is a bad thing nor that it’s got a connection to Cancer Bats, in fact it’s amazing! “Collide” though is very interesting, it’s a very distinctive style, it’s dramatic with eerie elements with both clean and growled vocal lines filling it up which appears to be like a collision of all the different musical backgrounds coming together, makes for an interesting listen. The best song on the album in my personal opinion is “Destroy” as it’s so far detached from any labels they have associated them it can actually be called “Axewound’s distinctive style”, it’s bouncy heavy and catchy as hell!

This album may not be the greatest album of the decade, or even the year for that matter but I can say that for a new band it’s an extremely promising start with some of the tracks I can see making a regular appearance on my iPod whilst at the gym. With it being a super group I’m not expecting this to be like a proper band releasing constant albums and touring all the time it will probably be a once in a while thing which is good, because as the material improves, absence will make the heart grow fonder.

4/5

Review by James Webb

 Band Members

Matt Tuck
Liam Cormier
Jason Bowld
Mike Kingswood
Joe Copcutt
 Track Listing
1. Vultures (Ft. Synyster Gates)
2. Post Apocalyptic Party
3. Victim of the System
4. Cold
5. Burn Alive
6. Exochrist
7. Collide
8. Destroy
9. Blood Money and Lies
10. Church of Nothing
 Band Related Links
Axewound Facebook
 Review Score Code
- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
- What Was That?