To An End – Redefine

Australian Metallers To An End make themselves known with this their self-released debut album ‘Redefine’. Hailing from Melbourne, Redefine was released on November 22nd, but has only just come to my attention. And my attention I will give it.

My first impressions as ‘From Grace To Demise’ follows opener ‘Intro’ is that these guys have a Maiden-esque sound to them. Not vocally, but musically, translated through the guitar riffs and galloping chugging that can be heard in the verses. It has a great chorus this track. Very metal but also melodic at the same time. It’s an absolute peach of an opening track with a brilliant vocal range from Al Gammie. Lovely shift in pitch towards the end.

‘Fracture’ starts with a punching power riff that is Black Stone Cherry all over. Al’s vocals parallel to those of Chris Robertson. This is a slower, more melodic number, but that doesn’t stop it losing any of it’s metal links one bit. ‘Wasteland’ was released as a single from this album and it’s easy to see why. This is a stadium rocker all day long. The chords are meaty and penetrating and the tune has a perfect base beat to it. Watch out for the break midway through which carries the track into a different and heavier direction. Perfect.

‘We Are Infinite’ proves itself to be one of the best tracks I’ve heard for a while. Chris Clancy’s guest vocals, especially in the chorus, propel not just the song, but the whole album into another direction of melodic metal. It seems that To An End’s secret formula lies in their choruses. Lots of busy guitar here make this a superb track. There’s no relenting as we steer off in another direction with ‘Hear No Evil’. Am I hearing shades of Phil Anselmo, twinned with a classic Pantera riff?? I think I am. Heaviest track so far, but still retains that melodic metal instinct. Clever.

‘Out of My Hands’ opening riff now sends us towards Slayer. Yes, Slayer! Is there anything this band cannot do?? This is 3 minutes of stunning power. The diversity of To An End is shocking. To be able to mix thrash and melodic rock is a gift in itself. As we hit ‘Left Untold’, that feeling of knowing you will replay this album once it’s finished becomes reality. This is more of a rock number but yet again chorus is king here. What I like about To An End is their ability to change their style track by track. Hats off to the track listing which is perfect and has obviously been given a lot of thought.

The guys slow it down a touch for ‘New Prescription / Old Addiction’. This moves along nicely with yet again a perfect sing along chorus. There’s a beautiful mid-track break with some lovely guitar harmonising which is delightful to hear. The song finishes with Al penetrating some serious anger through his vocals. Top notch.

Now……. I’m sure a lot of people know my views on bands doing cover songs on their albums. It’s not for me. I don’t mind it live, or as a B-side to a single, but it’s something I never did when I was playing and I still don’t get it now. However, on this occasion, I have paused Redefine and swung to YouTube to remind myself of Faith No More’s ‘Digging The Grave’ first before I make judgement. Guys, you have excelled. What an amazing job.

As we reach the penultimate track of this amazing album, ‘Open Season’ treats us to another slower melodic rock number. It’s stop/start verse not lasting long before a wicked speed change sets ups another blistering chorus. What a beautiful five second acoustic break out, which then leads to a climbing finale.

Last but not least, ‘Collide’ treats us to a lovely, anthemic/acoustic number parallel with Staind. Lovely keyboards behind the acoustic guitar, Al’s voice sounding hauntingly familiar to James Hetfield in parts. No drums. No bass. Lots of strings with so much depth, feel and emotion. They say a song has it’s place on an album, and ‘Collide’ is placed at the end of this stunning collection of tunes for a reason. It closes the album magnificently. Not because it’s different from everything else on offer, but because it’s got the ability to draw in the listener to realise without thinking, of what a stunning album they have just witnessed.

Speechless.

Track Listing:

1 – Intro

2 – From Grace To Demise

3 – Fracture

4 – Wasteland

5 – We Are Infinite

6 – Hear No Evil

7 – Out Of My hands

8 – Left Untold

9 – New Prescription/Old Addiction

10 – Digging The Grave

11 – Open Season

12 – Collide

Line-up: Al Gammie – Vocals / Matt Turner – Guitar / Yiorgs Sgourakis – Bass / Shane Evans – Drums

Links:

Facebook   Official Website   Instagram   Bandcamp   Spotify