| Man Raze | Surreal - Track By Track - Page 1 |
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Introduction:
Well here it is! After a very long wait the band have completed the album and it is due for release very soon. It's been a long - VERY long wait but it's been more than worth it. Having lived with the album for 5 days I can honestly say it's one of the best I've heard in a long time. Everything you expected from the band and more. The live sound the band had at the debut show in September 2005 has been captured perfectly on tape (digital toys). A very energetic rock album full of melody, great musicianship and more importantly just great songs. Any doubts that the re-recording over this two year period would make the songs sound too polished will soon be wiped away.
Tracklisting:
01 - This Is - 2:33
A great way to kick off this debut album, a statement of intent. If you were one of the few at The Spitz you'll remember this sound. It's exactly how they sounded live. A solid rock sound. The song is very fast, full of meaty riffing and fast soloing in the middle. Think Foo Fighters meets Sex Pistols. A big crescendo rock ending. As Phil says "Rock on baby!". This will be the tune to start the second Man Raze live show and any more that follow in 2008. In two and a half minutes they more than make up for the lengthy wait for this album to see the light of day.
02 - Turn It Up - 2:12
"Turn It Up, I Wanna Hear That Song again" - I think this pretty much sums up the record as a whole. All the excitement of track one but not as heavy. A good choice for the first single. Just a shame it wasn't out on CD and given a higher profile in this year, just before the album. One of the songs the band wrote after their live debut and re-discovery of themselves as a full on rock band. The live playing shows through - this is the sound of a band happy to be playing together and rocking out. Music which also makes the listener happy - Turn It Up!
03 - Runnin' Me Up - 4:06
The first time their Police influence shows through. Basically the same as the Instrumental Dub but updated. The reworking, re-recording makes this track much more heavy sounding. Especially drum-wise. It still has all the elements of the original with the same sublime mid-section. The middle now features a nice funky breakdown part before going into the cool guitar section from the instrumental - almost the same but with singing over the top of it. It would be nice to hear more songs in this style from the band, maybe on future releases but for now (and the rest of this record) any dub/reggae/Police influences are pushed to one side. This is not an experimental album but very much a rock record. And yet it still has lots of musical highlights showing the band's range and skill beyond a normal rock album.
04 - Every Second Of Every Day - 4:00
This is where the album becomes very interesting. Another song that sounds very different from the snippet heard over a year ago. The funky/dub parts from the sound samples are gone. Great slow building drums on the verses before the chorus kicks in. This is as close to a "ballad" as they get and it's nothing like a typical ballad even though it has very romantic lyrics. And the word romantic shouldn't put anyone off - the lyrics on this album are fantastic. Not a bad line and Phil sings each song perfectly. His vocals are one of the many highlights - alongside his guitar playing of course! The outro of the song is brilliant with it's "I Can't Think About You" vocal line repeating as the music plays out.
05 - Spinning Out - 3:22
The snippet of this song sounded very cool and the full song does not disappoint. Phil plays some awesome guitar parts in the middle of this mini-epic. Elements of White Lighting's intro meets Gods Of War - guitar and atmosphere-wise that is. Phil shows his vocal range with some very 'deep' singing at the start. None of this album (at least to me) sounds like Def Leppard but this is as close as Phil gets to sounding like his usual self from any of Leppards more heavy/epic songs.
06 - Can't Find My Own Way - 3:11
Not quite what you expect after hearing the very dub/Police-like version they played acoustically on the Rockworld special. The beginning of the song starts with a very Police-like bass part and Walking On The Moon style guitar, but before you know it, it kicks in. This is a rocked-up and speeded-up version. Phil singing in the same style as Runnin' Me Up. I think the phrase "The Police On Steriods" sums up the sound of this song. A typically shouty chorus as most of the songs have. Which make each track sound exciting. I couldn't pick a favourite from this album, to me all 12 tracks are equally brilliant but this one has something especially "great" about it. It stands out as a center point in the record. It also seems to be one of the bands most recent songs and if this is any indication of where they are headed for album number two - bring it on!
Due credit must go to Simon Laffy and Phil for their production on the album. It's been handled just right and the mix is spot on. All the band gell together well and no one instrument stands above any other. The playing is superb and the vocals are also spot on in the mix. As mentioned above if you thought the seemingly endless delays and re-recording would harm the records sound, worry not. When you hear how it's turned out you will not be at all disappointed.
Does this sound enthusiastic yet?...
Tracks 7-12 on - Page Two