The Answer - Solas

Share this on Facebook | Share this on Twitter

Yet again, I have to deal with one of those bands who dwell in the past…

The North Irish band THE ANSWER is another one of those bands that are trying to do something that the forefathers of Metal/Rock of the 60s and 70s hadn’t done, and “Solas” is their new album. Besides all the factors that are against it, the quartet does shows a good work. Yes, even in the middle of this tsunami of clichés that their musical style is made, they are not a total waste of time, playing with energy and a fine technique. They use very good melodies and tender moments, fine keyboards arrangements on some tracks, but that old sensation that “I heard it back somewhere” is truly strong.

The sound quality is fine, giving them the right sonority for the album. It fits on their musical work perfectly, and besides it evokes the past (and the moldy sensation in many moments), it is not “smoky” or dirty in the way we couldn’t understand what they are playing. It could be a better, with a cleaner sense as some bands of the same vein are doing, but it is not the worst thing in the world. They have some good moments, indeed, and they can be heard on songs as “Beautiful World” with its minimalisms on guitar arrangements (and fine melodic lines), the tender and hooking mix between LED ZEPPELIN elements and Bluesy influences on “Battle Cry”, the tasteful musical accessibility heard on the vocals and chords on “Untrue Colour”, the excellent melodies of “Thief of Light”, the savage and catching “Left Me Standing” (with a very good dose of musical accessibility on the guitars), the Bluesy energy of “Demon Driven Man”, and the good work of bass and drums on “Tunnel”. And for all those who like something more that the simple album, the deluxe version of “Solas” has three bonus songs: an acoustic version for “In this Land” (excellent in this way, let me tell you, with very good vocals), the Demo version of “Light in Darkness”, and a personal version of the quartet for PINK FLOYD’s “Money”. It’s a good album, but they have potential to do more than that. If they can put more of their personalities on the songs, and use a modern production, the results can be better.

Originality: 5
Songwriting: 9
Memorability: 8
Production: 6