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Black River Drive's new album Quicksand was produced by Toby Wright in Nashville, had additional guitars tracked by Zorran Mendonsa in Auckland, mixing by Forrester Savell in Melbourne and mastering by Jens Borgen Fascination Street in Sweden.
The album was recorded over two months in Nashville, Tennessee with US hard rock and metal producer Toby Wright, the man behind albums by the likes of Alice in Chains, Metallica, Slayer, Sevendust and Ozzy Osbourne. It was funded through a $20k crowd funding campaign and received government funding from NZOA. The album was mixed by Australian rock producer/engineer Forrester Savell (I Am Giant, Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus) and mastered at Fascination Street in Sweden.
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Now this album has been a long time in the making; over four years since they released their debut album 'Perfect Flaws', and a year after their crowdfunding campaigns target completion date. But what a whopper.
This album cannot even be compared to its predecessor. It is in a completely different league.
Opening with a gentle piano intro, it launches straight into deep bass-riddled power chords that rumble your stomach and massage the back. The vocals are throughout the album show an evolution in the bands style, away from the gentle and melodic, towards powerful and emotional. Sam Browne pushes his vocals to the limits and experiments with different styles, keeping it fresh.
Every song has a different edge, but they all ooze with potential energy, that requires full volume on a great sound system to fully be able to appreciate. The songs no longer revolve around a great guitar riff; they start with a solid riff, and transforms during the song, and inspiring creative guitar solos and and effects.
'Straight for the Sun' is my clear favourite track, as it is reminiscent of their earlier work, bringing forth a lot more melody, and a great subtle harmony alongside a simple but beautiful track. Other great tracks are the heavy hitting 'Grenade' and the current cult-hit on the radios 'Quicksand'. A definite must have for anyone who thinks rock is dead, because Black River Drive is back, and in a significant fashion.
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