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Barn Burner - Bangers

Rating

RIYL

Black Sabbath
Thin Lizzy
Fu Manchu
Bison B.C.

Release Date

02/16/2010

Label

Metal Blade

Tracklist

1. Holy Smokes
2. Fast Women
3. The Long Arm of the Law
4. Beer Today, Bong Tomorrow
5. Runnin’ Reds
6. Medium Rare
7. Brohemoth
8. Half Past Haggard
9. Wizard Island
10. Tremors
11. Old Habits

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Recent Ratings
Dan Goldin	Bill Lohr

Barn Burner is the latest band to break through from the fertile Montreal metal scene, although sonically they have virtually nothing in common with some of their more visible peers like Despised Icon and Ion Dissonance. Rather than pummeling the listener into submission with brutal gutturals and chunky guitar work, Barn Burner prefer to make like it’s the 1970s and employ copious amounts of guitar harmonization, ripping through songs like a man cutting through the clouded cigarette smoke of his favorite bar on the way to get another Labatt Blue. I think these guys were probably born with a bottle of Old Crow, or maybe Jim Beam, in their hands. Combining the best elements of southern rock, roots metal, and whiskey rock, Barn Burner has created a sonic time-warp, taking you back to the days of our nation’s bicentennial.

The record kicks off with “Holy Smokes,” which finds vocalist Kevin Keegan doing his best Ozzy Osbourne impression over the top of some absolutely killer riffs. This is a trend that will continue for the duration of Bangers. The first four tracks of the album, including the sludge-cum-bar rock of “Beer Today, Bong Tomorrow,” are very solid, but it isn’t until “Runnin’ Reds” that the record really takes off, going from good to great. The song is reminiscent of the party-ready, beer bottle-throwing, reckless abandon of The Unband. “Medium Rare” has ballsy southern rock flair with a superb chorus and seriously beastly riffs. “Brohemoth” is easily the best song on the album; it begins with sprawling instrumentals that eventually give way to an incredibly tight chorus and vivid apocalyptic imagery that channels Black Sabbath. “Half Past Haggard” is another rager, and “Tremors” is a very catchy number. The record closes with the somewhat out-of-place, but very good and haunting, instrumental “Old Habits.”

Barn Burner’s Bangers is an extremely enjoyable listen that recalls some of the best of what the 1970s had to offer. It is a cocky, fuzzy, ripper of an album that will have you shotgunning beers and growing a beard in no time. I highly recommend that you pick this one up as soon as possible. It’s truly a delight to listen to.

--Jake Oliver