Kev Rowland
One day I got a friend request on Facebook from Mattias Adolphson, and as always, I checked to see why I was hearing from him and whether it was a robot (I get that a lot). I noticed he is drummer in Stonewall Noise Orchestra and the music computer that is my brain started whirring (I often think the reason I forget everything that is not connected with music is due to there not being enough room for everything), and I recalled reviewing their 2013 album ‘Salvation’ and enjoying immensely. Of course, I accepted the friendship and now I am listening to the latest release, ‘Deathtripper’. There was an album in between this and the last one I had heard, plus they have been through a few line-up changes, so what was this going to be like?
I am always rather concerned when I am the one who has mentioned undertaking a review, as I feel bad if I give it a poor review, but given I am always honest in my opinion I have to say what I think, so I am very pleased to say this is a goodie. Doom is still the order of the day, but while there are times when they do head back to the early Seventies, there are plenty of others where they are way more commercial. At times they drift into QOTSA territory, at others more like Black Widow, but there is an element which reminds me a great deal of The Night Flight Orchestra, and not just because they have the same name. There are loads of melodies here, and the band is incredibly tight while singer Tony is in full control. They mix it up throughout, taking so many different elements of hard rock and metal, and while staying true to their doom roots they are having a blast and certainly bring the listeners along for the ride. They have had to deal with some hard personal struggles in recent years, yet they are back with an album which is passionate, powerful, and truly worthy of investigation by those who want melody front and centre with plenty of bite to back it up.