Downspirit
guitarist
Cedric "Cede" Dupont
has been quoted as saying that one of the main goals of their debut album,
Point of Origin
, was to combine metal with the blues. Of course, being blues-minded is hardly unprecedented for headbangers; the blues are the roots of rock & roll, and they have been influencing metal and hard rock since the 1960s. But it isn't often that 21st century metalheads go out of their way to tell you how much the blues means to them. So just how strong is the blues factor on
? Well,
don't perform a bunch of
Willie Dixon
,
Howlin' Wolf
, or
John Lee Hooker
songs; it isn't as though they are inundating listeners with tunes that have 12 bars. But parts of
are indeed bluesy, and these German headbangers are obviously well aware of the way the blues has affected different metal and hard rock eras; there is no doubt that they identify with the bluesier strains of 1970s metal and hard rock as well with the bluesier strains of 1990s grunge.
's sound is best described as alternative metal with elements of grunge, stoner rock, and progressive metal, and their long list of direct or indirect influences ranges from
Monster Magnet
Nirvana
, and
Soundgarden
, to
Black Sabbath
and
Foghat
; this is a band that identifies with the bluesiness of
Led Zeppelin
as well as the bluesiness of
Alice in Chains
.
love those big hooks and big melodies of 1970s and 1980s metal and hard rock, but they also love the grunginess and downtuned guitars of post-'80s alt-metal.
could have been more consistent; while most of the material is worthwhile, there are also a few lesser tracks here and there. But all things considered,
's bluesy take on alt-metal is a creative success. ~ Alex Henderson