| CD REVIEW New Device |
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Band : New Device Although London based Hard Rock act New Device was formed only in October 2007, its individual members (singer Daniel Leigh, lead guitarist Phil Kinman, rhythm guitarist/ singer Robb Wybrow, bassist Andy Saxton, and a first drummer) had previously met or played in bands with one another, enjoyed succes with international releases, and had toured with such music business heavieweights as Bullet For My Valentine, Funeral For A Friend, and My Chemical Romance. Which means they already had some experience in songwriting. Brought together by a common love for the late ‘80s & early ‘90 Stadium “Rock” giants (viz Guns ‘n’ Roses, Aerosmith, but also Metallica), the guys almost immediatelly entered Long Wave Studio in Cardiff to record 4 tracks with Romesh Dodangoda (known from his work with Bullet For My Valentine & Funeral For A Friend), stuff which soon attracted the attention of Powerage Records. In June 2008, the band (with longtime friend Ryan Richards of Funeral For A Friend on drums; currently drums are played by Rozzy Ison) they entered Outhouse Studios in Reading to record their 12-track debut album (which includes all 4 demo tracks). For the mixing of the album, they hired renowned producer Cameron Webb (check albums by Godsmack, Motörhead, Tenacious D and many more), who did the job over in Los Angeles. If I’ll be honest, I have to say that the guys’ Emo past comes through in quite a bit of the songs. On the one side, it comes through in the vocals (too much of the high pitch, not enough “sensuality”). On the other side, there’s the almost constant high pace of the music. Sure, there’s a couple of calmer moments with the semi-ballads “In The Fading Lights”, “Moth To The Flame”, and “Heaven Knows” but in all songs the boys either suddenly start playing in a faster pace, and/or the singer shoots off in his higher octave singing. In a way, you might say they give that ‘80s-‘90s “Rock” a touch of their own, a “modern” touch, if you like…and I’m sure that the guys will find a fanbase with their old bands’ fans as well as among the people usually only into Arena “Rock” (in the case of Metallica, the term “Metal” is more at place, right?!). At myspace.com//newdevice, you can listen to 4 tracks off the album (none of them one of the balladesque ones). The band also made a video (not available on their MySpace page) for the album’s title track, which hit the Kerrang! TV playlist in April…and songs off the album have been getting quite some rotation on UK’s major radio stations as early as that! I’m not sure how serious the band members are about promoting this product though! I’m guessing they’re currently too occupied by their individual main bands to do more than separate gigs with New Device! Of course, the band’s been getting massive support from the Classic Rock magazine, and both Kerrang! (“…Brazen, bballsy and brilliant in measure, New Device sound like Guns ‘n’ Roses getting into a fight with Van Halen – custom built for stadiums…”) and Rocksound (“…Straight up Stadium Rock with all the tunes, attitude and more fast-burning riffs than you could hope for. New Device are here in their irrepressive glory…”) have been giving rather positive reviewss as well! Personally, while I can very understand why the “masses” are possibly gonna like this band in a huge way, I prefer my bands (and even the Stadium Rock acts at that) with some more depth, variety in pace, and content! 84/100 Tony. |