DEAD CITY RUINS – Never Say Die (2018)
Since their full length debut seven years ago Melbourne based DEAD CITY RUINS has been going strong without letting anything distract them from their mission. The plow ahead with everything they’ve got, and you can hear this in every note of the new album, their third, “Never Say Die“, to be released tomorrow.
A rock band from Australia who actually don’t sound like AC/DC; these guys play classic rock as if their lives depended on it.
Built on very solid riffage and the monster vocals of lead throat Jake Wiffen, Dead City Ruins are pouring everything – body, soul and every last dollar – into breaking out of Australia and achieving significance in a very crowded marketplace.
Often straddled somewhere between Glenn Hughes / Black Contry Communion and Thin Lizzy on the riffmeter, stand-out tracks include the excellent, heavy-blues lament “Rust and Ruin” and the full-on “We Are One” which features a rolling Maiden-esque mish mash and a chorus ready-made for when and if they get to playing arenas.
“Devil Man” immediately signals the band’s furious intent to ruffle rock’s feathers with a nice tip of the hat to Thin Lizzy’s twin guitar assault in the solo. A gorgeous rumbling bass kicks off “Bones” where Black Stone Cherry meets Monster Truck and ask Nickelback to kick in with the chorus.
You can’t help notice the similarity with Ozzy’s trademark nasal whine on the likes of “Rust and Ruin”, “Dirty Water” and “The River Song”.
The band goes for the epic album closer “Lake of Fire” feeling initially a bit like a Dio-era Rainbow track before crashing to thunderous coda – belting track this one.
There are no filler songs on “Never Say Die”, no mediocre playing-it-safe tunes and no unnecessary fluff. Just 9 tracks to fit into a classic LP format – the cover artwork looks like it – all which grooves and rocks, and what’s more, it brings together passion and depth.
Classic Rock very, very well done.
Strongly Recommended
01. Devil Man
02. Bones
03. Dirty Water
04. Rust And Ruin
05. The River Song
06. We Are One
07. Destroyer
08. Raise Your Hands
09. Lake Of Fire
Jake Wiffen (Vocals)
Tommy Cain (Guitars)
Sean Blanchard (Guitars)
Matthew Berg (Bass)
Nick Trajanovski (Drums)
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www.amazon.de/Never-Say-Dead-City-Ruins/dp/B079PH835T
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