Genre : Old School Epic Rock with Modern Production values
Label : Cooking Vinyl
Origin : United Kingdom
Rating : 9.2 / 10
Buy it now
The Cult's latest to date full length delivery is unleashed on consensus with an anatomy that is super-easy to decipher and appreciate right on the spot. The Choice of Weapon LP is crystal clear in its intent to showcase what the game it wants to play is all about, and this is none other than to cult - oops. - ivate music which, while ultimately weighs in as a rather exigent "new breed-prototype" of old school epic rock, comes with masterfully beefed up production values that both satisfy recent day standards, but remains superfaithful - oxymoron - to the mere ethos it seeks to praise and express.
Thank God & Co., this package is serious enough about said determination to succeed fulfilling it magnificently, which also is the stupendous story of this special contribution. The first word that comes to mind while inspecting this baby is "totally", and the second is "legit". The disc exhibits zero wizardry, and reigns with the same amount of any need for those, concentrating instead on the top tier songwriting that brings to mind an elegant and efficient mixture of compositional tactics. Not at all surprisingly, the hyper-orthodox-, massively guitar centered instrumentalization is the steady choice of weapon for Choice of Weapon. Sorry about that. Guys, let's talk about the music.
The album sounds to me as a fresh testament of a certain/evergreen rock-disposition it seeks to claim the term "timeless" to. Question arises : 'the hell am I talking about? I'm talking about the epic-, almost fairy tale sense of hard rock that you can pick up from classic rock songs like "Pinball Wizard". Put early -, "kind-of-saloon-piano-rocker" Elton John on steroids, and send him out to sail on Pink Floyds - whatever that means - with a Quest to find the Queen, knowing that he will come back with a message from ZZ Top that no worries, the Queen is all good. This latter sentence is not a tad more rabidly psychedelic than this intact sonic trip of The Cult's latest sounds to me as, as I dare say that I'm picking up relevant traits of each musical giants I have just been mentioning, yet, the ensemble is ripe and original enough on its own merits to bring its influences to you with pretty much flawless efficiency and elegance while building new musical constructs out of them.
I personally found no weak tracks on the disc whatsoever, only strong-, stronger and awesome tracks. Nor did I find spots the build-, as whole, would lose steam on. The premiere character of the fray is a sober interchange between dignified intensity and SOME mid-tempo, - Elemental Light sounds to be an answer to Anathema's Energy - while straight-out slower installments are nowhere to be found, and I personally think the record looks better without those, too. The album is as peaceful as it is "playfully angry", and it does not really sound to me like it would seek to convey disillusionment.
Once again, the primordial mood-setting that permeates this disc is of focal importance. The following sentence is not a negatively critical observation, quite the contrary. The disc is fueled by an unconditional love of the epic rock language-, the storyteller rock language of yesterday, and shows and proves that said rhetorics still has all the tricks and the raw charisma in its arsenal - and indeed it does - to fuel a near-perfect album right here right now in 2012. Top of the heat production values, super-competent-, fluent epic rock riffage and ballsy high definition singing, channeled with a timeless sense of freshness you can't dismiss with a face to back it up. Highly recommended, and, especially so if you think you are not fan of the genre, as this one has the potential to make you one.
Rating : 9.2 / 10
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