The Showdown – Back Breaker
Back Breaker Artwork
I know it seems a little immature, but I think from all the music I have listened to that it is a safe indicator to how many spins a records gets. I would like to say that it is not an indicator of how much I enjoy the CD, because that is a whole different ball game.
This is the first Showdown record released on Solid State, and their third. I heard the first and skipped the second – and from what I have heard this third release was a combination of both previous releases. This makes for a very straight-up release.
All up it would be classed as metal. No irregular time signatures, or crazy off side or unexpected music – just pure metal, served with a single block of ice. That being said, from the start you can tell its going to be pretty brutal, the opening track (The Beginning) is an instrumental, nice double-kick, nice solid riffage, and even some high end guitar (probably commonly refered to as a solo).
That changes into the first ‘song’ of the record. A nice little ditty with a sweet chorus and same brutal verses. And I think that it is much the same for the other tracks. Brutal vocals mixed with some spot-on singing (track four: “The Backbreaker”) has a chorus with 12 vocal tracks, and it sounds huge like the scope of the vocals is massive.
The solos are a little unimaginitive. They do fit into the song, and they are a staple of metal music in general, but they seem to be in the music because they have to be. It would would be cool to have some solos that actually felt like they *had* to be there.
This CD will pick you up and shove you into a wall, while shouting in your face that you need to change your diaper. Because during the altercation you pooped your pants. It is a brutal record. Although I am still unsure, there is something about The Showdown’s sound that makes me second guess choosing to listen to it. All their CD’s have done that to me, it maybe the southern metal vibe (although I totally enjoy southern metal), but I cannot pick it.
Whilst there are downsides to this CD, I would recommend it. It is a solid release. It’s brutal and clean. It’s a CD that will make you bang your head. I reckon it could even make you sing with your foot raised on a pretend foldback speaker.
This CD I would say is solid, southern metal – maybe even at its best. A great combination of heavy and soft. But with reservations.
Have a listen, and let me know what you think.
