Acceleration - Age Of Silence

Advantages: Every beat in every bar has a reason for being there.
Disadvantages: The mix seems to lack a bit of bottom end.

...Break The Silence is the debut album from Brighton based McQueen. The album was produced by UK based Richie Kayvan and mixed by Kayvan and Queens Of The Stone Age/Tool producer Joe Barresi . The ten songs are short and sharp, aggressive tunes that attract punk and metal fans (no ballads here) but with enough melody and hooks to have wider appeal without sounding contrived. The tracks I did not take to straight away grew on me over time and I have found the CD more enjoyable with repeated listening. The shortness of the album also leaves me wanting more, which is never a bad thing. McQueen are impressing all the right people. This year A&R guru Tom Zutaut joined their management team, Slash invited them to tour with Velvet Revolver and they have been making guest appearances with a host of stars since relocating to Los Angeles to work... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: 80s Ground breaking, original British symphonic rock
Disadvantages: Never made it to the big time.

...(with "Rock of Ages" on the B side) which was how I first heard the band. This is the first time we hear a guitar solo by Bendelow, and it shows he is a capable axeman. "Horsemen of the Apocalypse" is a perfect example of a great Saracen song. It is introduced by a drum riff, followed by the keyboards, then the bass kicks in, making it sound even darker, and lastly the guitar overlays a simple but effective riff giving a slightly sinister feel to the song. The vocals join, a song about the four horsement: Famine, Plague, War and Death. After two verses and a middle eighth, the song softens, an acoustic replaces the rock electric guitar for another verse, after which it accelerates faster than before, just for everything to drop out except the guitar introducing the third movement with a classic Bendelow lick, progressing into a short... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Brilliant comeback
Disadvantages: Quite short at only 34 minutes

...Since the departure of drummer Bill Berry in 1996, R.E.M. have appeared to be on a downward spiral with their last album, Around the Sun, almost ruining their career, and there were few peole who believed that they could recover. Nearly four years later, they released Accelerate; an album that really goes back to the roots of R.E.M. and what they are really about. Gone are the soft, safe sounds of Up and Around the Sun, and the more alternative, distinctive sounds of Life's Rich Pageant and Green and the other early albums begin to show through. With the catchy chorus of Man-Sized Wreath and the haunting melody of Hollow Man, and songs as fast and furious as Living Well is the Best Revenge and I'm Gonna DJ, R.E.M. have definitely made a comeback to remember with Accelerate.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful