Losing Sun - Inertia
Casket Music - CSK038 - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
Another late entry from Casket Music, Inertia is the first album from Welsh metal act Losing Sun, who apparently count amongst their number a Mediterranian guitarist (Marc), an Egyptian bassist (Mattaius), and a professional cage fighter (drummer Jayce). Yep, that's right - a professional cage fighter. Good thing I quite like this album - I'd hate to give him a scathing review. The vocalist for this record was Paul Kellehar, who has since been replaced by Ben Honebone.
Inertia starts off strongly with the driving, moody 'Dirtnap' and continues solidly on its course with hardly a waver in style throughout - which is good in that there's a consistent level of quality, but bad in that some more diversity in tempo could have helped matters out. The sound on offer is a blend of post-hardcore of the likes of Landmine Spring, some Tool-influenced riffage, and a fair smattering of Alice In Chains/Soundgarden-esque grunge, the latter being most evident in Paul's vocal stylings which mix up aggro shouting and more measured, competent crooning. The drumming is a high point throughout, with Jayce laying down some machine-gun kick drum rhythms as well as introducing some interestingly tribal-sounding beats. The riffage, too, is pretty impressive, combining with the drums to make some fairly punishing moments.
Occasionally, though, the band stumbles somewhat - the chorus of 'Closure' really messes with the inertia (sorry, cheap pun) of the track, for instance, whilst elsewhere the generally mid-tempo pace of the tracks induces a fade in the listener's attention. 'Shimmer', too, is a somewhat disappointing track - adding some glitchy dance influence to proceedings turns out to make for a less than stellar song, despite it containing Paul's most uninhibitedly savage vocal performance on the album. However, these shortcomings don't sink proceedings, and Losing Sun still provide an entertaining listen. There's a new album on the way with their new vocalist, so it should be interesting to see how they've developed.
6.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Losing Sun's Official Website
Casket Music's Official Website
Casket Music - CSK038 - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
Another late entry from Casket Music, Inertia is the first album from Welsh metal act Losing Sun, who apparently count amongst their number a Mediterranian guitarist (Marc), an Egyptian bassist (Mattaius), and a professional cage fighter (drummer Jayce). Yep, that's right - a professional cage fighter. Good thing I quite like this album - I'd hate to give him a scathing review. The vocalist for this record was Paul Kellehar, who has since been replaced by Ben Honebone.
Inertia starts off strongly with the driving, moody 'Dirtnap' and continues solidly on its course with hardly a waver in style throughout - which is good in that there's a consistent level of quality, but bad in that some more diversity in tempo could have helped matters out. The sound on offer is a blend of post-hardcore of the likes of Landmine Spring, some Tool-influenced riffage, and a fair smattering of Alice In Chains/Soundgarden-esque grunge, the latter being most evident in Paul's vocal stylings which mix up aggro shouting and more measured, competent crooning. The drumming is a high point throughout, with Jayce laying down some machine-gun kick drum rhythms as well as introducing some interestingly tribal-sounding beats. The riffage, too, is pretty impressive, combining with the drums to make some fairly punishing moments.
Occasionally, though, the band stumbles somewhat - the chorus of 'Closure' really messes with the inertia (sorry, cheap pun) of the track, for instance, whilst elsewhere the generally mid-tempo pace of the tracks induces a fade in the listener's attention. 'Shimmer', too, is a somewhat disappointing track - adding some glitchy dance influence to proceedings turns out to make for a less than stellar song, despite it containing Paul's most uninhibitedly savage vocal performance on the album. However, these shortcomings don't sink proceedings, and Losing Sun still provide an entertaining listen. There's a new album on the way with their new vocalist, so it should be interesting to see how they've developed.
6.5/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Losing Sun's Official Website
Casket Music's Official Website
