ADRENALINE MOB — Adrenaline Mob (review)

ADRENALINE MOB — Adrenaline Mob album cover

EP · 2011 · Groove Metal

4.5/5 · 2011-08-21
Time Signature

The mob rules...

Genre: groovy heavy metal

Some of Adrenaline Mob's members may have backgrounds on some of the most prolific progressive metal bands of all time, but this EP is not a progressive metal release, so if you expect odd time signatures galore, long tracks, complex compositions and lush soundscapes, you are in for the disappointment of a lifetime.

You see, this is straight up hard rocking heavy metal, and it is groovy as fuck. Oh, and it is awesome. The rhythm guitars are rock steady and crushingly groovy, while the guitar solos are truly fretboard- and ear-ripping. Russell Allen's powerful voice makes any male listener's cojones shrink a size or two; he really belongs to the same league as vocalists like Ronnie James Dio and Graham Bonnett. Mike Portnoy's drumming is rock solid and perhaps more straight ahead than what his fans might be used to, while Paul DiLeo's bass provides the bottom that makes it all come together (the bass is not as prominent in the mix, as I think it should be, but it is audible, and, at times, it has the same sort of edge to it as the bass on Iron Maiden's debut album, which - needless to say - is very nice).

The four original tracks all emphasize groove, and the verses are typically based on groovy riffage, while the choruses are more melodic, and you can also expect some super groovy breakdowns. There is also a brilliant cover version of the Black Sabbath classic 'The Mob Rules' - a great conclusion to a journey through the groovy land of big cojones.

There are a lot of groovy metal bands out there, but many of them sound like second or third rate Pantera clones. But not Adrenaline Mob, and this slab of groovy metal is some of the best groove metal I've heard since Pantera's "Cowboys from Hell" and "Vulgar Display of Power" and Invocator's "Dying to Live". Adrenaline Mob are not as thrashy as Pantera or as progressive as Invocator, but they are just as groovy and have definitely earned a place in the upper echelon of groovy heavy metal.

Fans of groovy heavy metal should definitely check this release out... it might even make you want to mosh around in your living room.

more than 2 years ago
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Coffin Joe wrote:

more than 2 years ago

It's on my "blasting zombies from my pickup-truck" list

Coffin Joe wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I like how Adrenaline Mob doesn't fall in the "let's-sound-like-the-next-Pantera" category. I really enjoy their balls to the walls approach to the genre. It's evident, they a fans of old school groove metal. The wah-wah in track 1 made me smile - it actually made me think of my Wah-Wah-Watson LP - really cool & unexpected

Time Signature wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I agree, Adrenaline Mob certainly grooved their way onto my top three groovy metal artist list (the two others being Pantera and Invocator).

Coffin Joe wrote:

more than 2 years ago

agree! This is damn solid! Best groove-metal release in a long time!