What I love about this absolutely extraordinarily good second album from Glasgow Classic Rock merchants Attica Rage is that it's a mighty 14-track offering that, without seeing them live, is, so you feel, the absolute studio epitome of what an Attica Rage live set is gonna be all about when it comes to monster metal and electrifying excitement.
The twin-guitar fuelled band fire all guns right from the start with “36 Insane” as a barrage of Classic Rock riffing courtesy of guitarists Jonny Parr and Stevie Bell, this huge river of bass guitar from Big C that is the foundation on which it's all built, propelled by thunderous, superb sounding drumming from Richie Rage and topped with the storming lead vocals from Parr, multi-tracked on the chorus, for a stunner of an opening track that, complete with searing heat guitar break, is as classic an opening statement to a slice of seventies-inspired metal that you'll hear. But that's just the beginning.
“Hacked For Vanity” opens with scorching lead guitar firepower as the vocals surge in and the rhythm section hammer it down, the stunning production making those drums and bass shake the foundations, as another rock anthem burns through with purpose and intent, that barrage of riffing the stuff that rock dreams are made of. Wah wah guitar and heated electric lead fly out mid-way then this torrent of electric lead guitar just shoots out like wildfire as you're now inexorably immersed in the head-banging delight that this album has already become. Just as you think it can't get any better than this already, it only goes and gives us “Road Dog Forever”, as vintage a slice of electric slide guitar propelled rock 'n' metal that the likes of Rose Tattoo or even a more modern band such as Airbourne, would kill to have come up with. The song is immense, the chorus sky-high and unforgettable as one of the finest Classic Rock compositions you've heard in years, burns the highway to your soul, complete with this towering furnace of a production that brings the best out in every single facet of the band – drums, bass, guitars, riffs, solos, vocals – it's just breathtaking and this is a rock composition that you'll play until you die – it really is that classic and worth the price of the album on its own.
But it doesn't stop there – ohhhhhh no – as “Through The Inner Eye” decelerates the pace, actually intensifies the energy and burns right through with this scything barrage of riffing and solid rhythm work before briefly dropping to ringing guitar chords and flowing leads, as the vocal matches the pace and dynamics of what starts slowly but rises up to become this huge-sounding Classic Rock anthem, way more than a rock ballad, surging with intent, and the absolute equal to, and not far off from, anything that Metallica put out on the “Black” album – it's the magic of mid-paced metal at its mightiest. The guitar work just shines, the rhythms flow, the vocals fly and drive, while the band playing as a whole is just immense – it's stunning, once again. “Contradictions” opens with the almighty growl of dual guitar riffing before this swirling, almost psych-metal guitar then introduces one of those heavy-duty scything riffs that every rock fans immerses themselves in, ushering in the vocals that slowly soar upwards on a striking composition that is the combination of memorable metal riffing, sky-high choruses, driving verses, and solid propulsion at its finest, yet again injected with so much feel and passion and it's this sheer wealth of emotion that the band pour into each and every track, which sets them up against the mightiest names in the last 30 years of Classic Rock and sees them giving seasoned veterans more than a run for their money.
“Ashamed” is another gem of rock 'n' metal, opening as an anthem, driving at mid-paced muscle into a composition that lifts off like a rocket and has the hugest chorus that is absolutely magical, set above the monstrous river of riffs, rhythms, guitar leads and those powerful and distinctive vocals, arranged to bring out the dynamics and passion to the max in what is a true rock ballad-as-anthem, everything firing on all cylinders on what is yet another utter gem of a rock song, mighty and monstrous to perfection. “High” now increases the pace and intensity a bit more and gives us a solid slice of song-writing that mixes AOR, metal and Metallica in equal measures, complete with heated lead guitar work, the ever present rivers of bass and drumming, vocals flying overhead like vultures, only way more beautiful to behold, all injected with energy and emotion on another mighty mid-paced slice of rock heat as lead guitar sheers off to provide as classic a solo as they come on what is equally, as classic a slice of rock song-writing and arranging, thoroughly memorable and, like everything that's come before, totally addictive. In the classic tradition of a seventies concert set, the band then give us a respite in the form of “Lost”, a string-led, rippling guitar-driven slice of rock balladry that opens up into this huge anthem of spectacular proportions as the guitars coalesce, drive, the multi-tracked vocals are expansive and the rhythm section crunchy and dramatic, the dynamics veering from rock tenderness to magical metal, on as fine a slice of metal balladry as you'll hear from many a more famous band.
“Altea” is the obligatory acoustic track for such an album but it's far from filer as the band give us a short but emotive instrumental that's a joy and just at the right time to give a breathing space before the immensity of “Altered Reality” erupts into life with another gem of a Classic Rock song that builds and builds then drives into this wild rocker of a number with flowing vocals, surging riffs and powerful rhythm work, the verses sung to perfection as the lack of a real chorus in no way impedes the searing heat of a stunner of a song, as the guitars burn a path to your head and heart. “One Minute Silence” is another absolute belter of a song, starting with heavy riffing, dropping back to studied singing and mesmerising lyrics, as the band rise up to deliver the song with metal-fuelled emotion that sends a shiver down the spine every time you hear it, the whole thing rising and falling to perfection, but every time it rises, the heat and intensity being magnified to such a degree that when the pace accelerates mid-song and ushers in this startling lead guitar break, you're suddenly aware that you've been so wrapped up in it all, you've forgotten to breathe – it's that good a song. “Change In The Iris” is another scything slice of Classic Rock perfection while “Swimming With Sharks” is another one that starts with restraint and slowly builds into a monster anthem with a sky-high chorus and more muscular “vintage Metallica-gone-Classic Rock” leanings, as it veers from ringing songwriting to surging rock anthem with ease and energy. The album ends with “Back To The Old School” which just about sums it all up as the firepower is unleashed for one last time as the band surge through a solid rock song that is pure rock heaven in any m,etal fan's language, full of energised, burning, addictive rock riffing, driving rhythms, heated vocals, multi-tracked vocals and the absolute equal to the finest of rock closers on any such album you care to name.
In short, this is a totally faultless stone-cold stunner of a Classic Rock album without one second wasted, played, produced, sung, written and arranged to perfection and rock albums simply don't come better than this.