Ace Mafia - Ace Mafia

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UK's ACE MAFIA  are releasing their eponymous EP, after a long hiatus caused by the depart of guitarist Richie Faulkner, realizing his dream gig with the almighty JUDAS PRIEST. Faulkner did the guitar tracks in the studio before leaving the place to Ben Lundy. Now they are stronger than ever, offering a four song album that sound like banging on a brick wall. Kay Ghibli 's vocals are very similar to great singers of the Grunge/Heavy Rock, Seattle 90's like ALICE IN CHAINS' Layne staley, STONE TEMPLE PILOT's Scott Weiland, even PEARL JAM's Eddie Vedder. Nostalgics of that period should find comfort and pleasure in listening to this Rock gem.

"Snakes and Ladders" is the opener and in seconds I'm in well known territory.The vocals are very reminiscent of Scott Weiland's. The music reminds me of GODSMACK too. This is quite well rendered. This is radio ready music. Experienced musicians doing what they do best: Rock.The guitar playin' is incredible. The drumming is contagious, as I had to air drum while listening! All is in its own place, the puzzle is solved, all pieces are where they belong. "Face to Face" starts it up with some piano intro. This song is about a dialog, a declaration to someone. Once again the drums are well executed and played. The vocal harmonies are nicely used. We are offered a superb solo right in the right spot of the song teamed up with powerful drum action. The chorus is attractive and mesmerizing. They should do a video for that one if this is not done yet. The piano closes this one softly.

"Stop Loss" bring good riffing, great rhythmic guitars and groovy vibe.The song to play to make the crowd go crazy and move around. The guitars are building a great team together and the duo brings an intense and cool experience. This is not even second boring. Finally, "Breathlessness". There is an ALICE IN CHAINS influence here in the guitar riffing and the singing. It's quite a good song. Excellent rendition in general, not the most original to be honest but they do it great. ACE MAFIA are doing an excellent job here providing entertaining rock,pulling out and blasting great burst of energy and feeling. They are not that much original but the experience and excellence is present and easily felt. This four song EP is promising and I hope they'll work on a full length release soon. I had a great experience revisiting my 90's! You guys ROCK.

Songwriting: 9
Originality: 8
Memorability: 9
Production: 9