Hard Action - Sinister Vibes [Full length] (2015, Svart Records)

Leather-rocking biker music with everything it entails

Everything about this band screams "we're one of those seventies hard n' heavy clones from Sweden that land somewhere in the midst of a circlejerk consisting of early Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and Girlschool". The promo shots feature sunglasses, denim, beards and a bandana. The cover presents wrecked guitar equipment and a stylish seventies design. Songtitles like Watch Me Burn, Cut to the Bone and Dead Dogs really do the trick. It's a sure thing, right? Well, no, not really.

These Finnish bad boys - a veritable super group to say the least, consisting of fine musicians from Speedtrap, Forced Kill and other prominent Finnish bands - may be sporting the mandatory seventies hard rockin' biker dresscode, but these motorcycles carry them to far punkier territories. When they're the punkiest they sound like a head-on collision between a flashier Ramones and Danzig-era Misfits on speed. When they're the heaviest, Airbourne and a slew of other hard rock bands come to mind.

"It's tough to compare Hard Action to any one band or scene because they borrow so much."

There's really no defining moment on Sinister Vibes, the band's debut album. With no real highs or lows to set the bar, the tracks come off as being nothing but a case of explosive nostalgiarrhea. It's tough to compare Hard Action to any one band or scene because they borrow so much. To put it bluntly, they sound like every aviator shade-wearing biker cop on Earth had an unlubricated orgy on top of a giant heap of Gibson guitars and Marshall stacks.

It's not that Sinister Vibes is a boring mess, it's just that this particular style has been done better by other bands, and it seems mostly like a group of already established musicians wanting to cash in on the recent resurgence of popularity in the genre. It's entertaining enough, and it's certainly listenable with its hookless chords and flashy shredding, but ultimately nothing really stands out. Hard Action is in many ways to hard rock what Speedtrap is to speed metal: A crash course in all the tropes and an entirely by-the-numbers experience going top speed through a wall of nostalgia. 6/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Dead Dogs
2. Chosen Few
3. Cut to the Bone
4. Night Moves
5. Deadweight (Cut Me Loose)
6. Watch Me Burn
7. Hey You
8. Sinister Vibes
9. Gun Point
10. No Lesson Learned

HARD ACTION on Facebook
HARD ACTION on Bandcamp
SVART RECORDS official site

Grenouer - Computer Crime [EP] (2011, Copro Records)

The Russians have become a larger and larger part of the international music scene during the last decade or so. Especially slam bands like Abominable Putridity, Katalepsy and Abnormity have become well known throughout the world, but Grenouer, a band with its roots in hard rock and modern heavy metal, are also part of the growing Russian metal scene.

Grenouer is a rather interesting band. They've been part of Russia's metal scene since 1992, where they started out playing a genre very unlike the turn they took later. They started out as a death/thrash metal band and have several full lengths, splits and EPs in their quite formidable catalogue, but have gained limited global recognition.

One must ask, is there room for yet another band that goes back to the very roots of metal? Yes and no. No because there already are a literal horde of 80's revivalist bands and old school metal bands, and even 70's progressive rock has had a resurgence in today's metal scene. However Grenouer, though they aren't exactly reinventing the spoon, could very well be something many have been looking for. Their approach to heavy metal is a far heavier and modern one than many of their brothers, while still leaving room for melodic vocals and sombre interludes.

Especially the collected guitar work of Igor and Alexander in the Russian band brings a very heavy outlook to a genre otherwise tried through, giving additional life to the time tested formular. While the band's efforts have the feet planted firmly in the soil of heavy metal they also lean heavily on the sounds of 90's NU metal, metalcore and even djent in some parts.

Though I've given them much praise I must admit that I find it hard to really thoroughly enjoy their EP "Computer Crime". The song "Fix Your Life" is by far the most enjoyable track of the five, because it has the most variation and the greatest guitar and drum work on the entire EP, and especially because it doesn't resort to melodic intermezzos when things get rough. Grenouer isn't a metal band in the traditional sense as they take so many elements from related genres, and I could imagine this would mean many people end up in the same situation as me: It's either too heavy or not heavy enough. Rock fans would enjoy parts of the EP, while metal fans would enjoy other parts. 6/10 guitars.

Tracklist:
1. Last Stop
2. Rejected
3. See no Sun
4. Fix Your Life
5. Golden Years

GRENOUER official site
Copro Records official site