Description
Here we go, start 2012 as we mean to go on! This is possibly one of the most atypical of At War releases so far in that it’s not got any experimental basis to it at all and well, it does exactly what it says on the tin: MAXIMUM ROCK. I kinda feel that AWWFN is my label and so it should reflect my tastes to a large degree, and so “more metal” may indicate the general trajectory the label is going in.
Anyway, enough of the bullshit: Old Head are fucking great! Essentially this is grind maniacs TOTAL FUCKING DESTRUCTION playing a great fusion of early 90s-style thrash and classic rock stylings, with the inimitable Megadan Tumelo on vocals. Just check the back cover of the CD: Dan has the HEAVY METAL comic logo tattooed on his arm: nuff said! Anyway: to the music. Old Head’s roots are most defiitely in 70s rock; the three covers on this record are testament to that: “Fat Man” by Jethro Tull, a refreshingly non-obvious Sabbath cover in “Rock And Roll Doctor” and my favourite, a thrash re-imagining of CSNY’s “Cut My Hair”. Maybe it’s the sentiment but that song is just a belter! OH have their own style though, and that is brilliant catchy riffs, superb tight-as-fuck drumming (Rich Hoak – you may have heard of him – his day job is to pound the skins in on the of greatest grind bands ever, Brutal Truth), great sing-a-long heavy metal choruses (as they should be!) and superb, really beefy production.
This record basically had me feeling like I was a teenager again, and at a time when trends just seem to be dictating the music industry at a major level and in the underground, Old Head play what they like to play because they have to, and I am absolutely 100% behind that!
“We are a band called Old Head, taking rock and roll back from the dead
We don’t praise satan, we don’t praise god, and to the old school we give a nod”
Bang on!
