October Rage

Reviewed by Nima Hedayati

Artist: October Rage
Album: Outrage
Label: Self Published
Release Date: 13th September 2011

Track list:

1. Lords of Wyrd
2. Set You Free
3. Wayside
4. Silverline
5. Rain
6. Home
7. Supernova
8. Eastern Road
9. Two-Sided Blade
10. Into the Night
11. Reign of Fire
12. Under the Wind

October Rage are a four piece rock band hailing from New South Wales in Australia. The band came to life in 2008 from a core of two brothers, Nick and William Roberts. This is the bands début album and what a bright start from this group of young rockers. The music can best be described as anthemic rock with heavy metal influences.

The opening track ‘Lords of Wyrd‘ gives us a short intro with atmospheric synths and melodic lead guitar setting the mood for what is to come. Straight into the second track ‘Set You Free‘ with a groovy distorted guitar riff setting the pace. The guitar tone throughout is deep, chunky and warm; it rocks but at no point will it hurt your ears. The guitar solo is both technical and melodic; a great tone carries all the notes beautifully. Heading into ‘Wayside‘ again opens with some fantastic metal chugging and soaring lead guitar. This song had me head banging instantly and has one of those choruses that will have you singing along in no time. ‘Silverline‘ opens with some clean acoustic strumming and soulful vocals. Smooth distorted lead guitar opens for the drums and distorted rhythm guitar on the chorus sections. This song is simply a great anthem with great melodies; you will even hear some orchestral string parts towards the end of the song strengthening the melody. Into the fifth track ‘Rain‘ again follows a similar structure to previous songs but it has it’s own unique qualities; one of these is the cool phasing guitar riff on the verses that adds an interesting texture to the song.

The next song we hear is ‘Home‘ which opens with clean finger picked guitar and a second guitar comes in with sparkling clean chords. The bass and drums come in together with a nice deep thump. The vocal line has a touch of country and western style to it which actually works very well. Heading into ‘Supernova‘ is another one of those great sing along songs with superb vocal and guitar melodies. This could well be my favourite song on the album. Then we’re given ‘Eastern Road‘ which opens with a heavy pulsing guitar riff, very heavy and full of groove. I also love the searching vocal melodies on the verses. ‘Two-Sided Blade‘ opens with a satisfying classic rock guitar riff. This is one of the more traditional rock songs on the album with a simpler more direct approach to the song writing. ‘Into the Night‘ opens with more acoustic guitar and strings, reminded me a little of Smashing Pumpkins in style. The lyrics here are both heartfelt and uplifting. ‘Reign of Fire‘ continues where the last song ended with more clean guitar. The guitar solo half way through the song is one of the most memorable on the album; not overly technical but it perfectly compliments the melody of the song. At 4 mins 20 a whole new riff with completely different tempo is introduced; this instantly lifts the mood of the song and is made to rock hard with a lightning fast blues guitar solo; overall a great song.

The final track ‘Under the Wind‘ features some lovely piano playing and again smooth orchestral strings adding depth to the melody lines. The vocals here are some of the best on the album, the singer shows his full range and strong soulful voice is commanding throughout. The guitar solo is wonderfully melodic and tastefully done. The album ends on a really soft note with a combination of strings and piano gently drifting off into silence.

I have to say that I really enjoyed this album and after two listens I didn’t find any of it boring or repetitive. This is great uplifting soulful music that is performed to perfection. The production is excellent with all instruments and vocals mixed evenly and a shimmering warmth to the sound. I will definitely come back to this album for more; it’s one of those that really grows on you and you will discover more intricacies to the sound the more times you hear it. If you haven’t already I highly recommend you check out this band and celebrate great rock music.

Rating: 10/10