PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Now I’m of a certain age with over forty years of listening to and watching bands so it takes a lot to really impress me but here is my album of 2020 from one of the most exciting debuts I’ve heard for a long time. Channelling the audacity of early Van Halen, the pop suss of Cheap Trick and the energy of early Def Leppard, North East based Twister will release Cursed And Corrected on Friday, November 13th via Off Yer Rocka Recordings. Definitely not an unlucky day for them!
They even have the nerve of giving us 13 songs to digest. A brave move as attention may start to waver but there’s no chance of that happening here as every song could be an encore. Opening track ‘We Are The Cursed And Corrected’ is an ominous instrumental. It eases in slowly until heavy drum patterns from Jack Corbett and a chilling riff lead into ‘Save Us Yourself’ that takes on that riff. It’s mouthwatering melodic rock at its finest as the verses soar courtesy of the vocals from Stevie Stoker. Full-on choruses that rock out with their cock out lead to a riff-heavy outro. Another attention-grabbing vocal comes from ‘Young And Affected’. A supreme tour de force delivery that gets even more of a force of nature when it’s backed by a wall of guitars from Stevie and Jake Grimes. It even kicks up a gear to rage even more for a race to the finish line outro.
The quality just keeps on coming as the opening riffs for ‘Natural Survivor’ tease until they are let loose from their shackles to force along shout it out loud and proud choruses as a twin guitar bombast midsection crashes in. Fretboard trickery opens up ‘Trees’ that goes all funky from the bass guitar prowess of Ryan Lee backed by dextrous drum patterns. Choruses are headbanging heaven with more hooks than a fishing tackle shop, like Cheap Trick on steroids! ‘Wild And Lonely (Fingers Crossed)’ is pure power pop. Dynamics are heavy but still have lashings of commercial suss that have rock radio play written all over it. There is so much going on in ‘Trading Hearts’ that it took repeated plays to get my head around it. Guitars jab throughout the verses as an angelic vocalled bridge herald the sugar-sweet choruses.
‘Call To Arms’ lives up to its title as a lilting piano intro heads off into guitar overload and thought-provoking lyrics match the mood of the song. If guitars could whisper then this track could confirm that they can as they breeze through the beautiful balladry of ‘Mystery’. A heart-melting vocal is backed by luscious orchestral strings and just enough drums to carry it along. Here comes another song to light up any stadium as ‘Feeding Frenzy’ is a bona fide party starter chock full of “oh oh oh’s” and heartbeat-like kick drums. Guitars are let of the leash at the minute mark so just watch them go and the lead vocal is utterly overwhelming! Where do these future classics in the making songs come from as ‘Monroe’ is another tug at the heartstrings. Guitars are bestial and the vocal could melt the coldest of hearts but its the choruses that take it to the next level.
‘Fist Fight By The Waterside’ is a song of two halves. This bass driven hard rocker with soul searching lyrics sees it head off into a full-on rager with demolition wrecking ball strength that pauses briefly for a chest-beating “whoa oh oh” breakdown. This stunning album ends on a high with ’64 White Lies’ that is so laid back it’s horizontal. It’s my album highlight as indie like guitar lines weave their way around the riffs over a lung-busting vocal tirade and an air guitar inducing riffathon!
Twister band line up :-
Stevie Stoker – Lead vocals/guitar.
Jake Grimes – Guitar/backing vocals.
Ryan Lee – Bass guitar/backing vocals.
Jack Corbett – Drums/backing vocals.
Band links can be found below :-
http://www.officialtwister.co.uk/
- £13.35
