Stephen
"Vagabond Bones" is the answer to frontman Brian Vollmer's wake-up call, asking the surviving line-up from "Walkin' The Razor's Edge" era to reunite again. Guitarist Paul Hackman is absent and replaced by Kaleb Duck who assisted the band while on tour. This 12th studio album will make you turn your head and think "is this still 1984?". The classic Helix style was the driving force behind this album, and if you're a huge fan of the band, this is a pleasure treat that worth the long-waiting.
The first three tracks are simply awesome. "The Animal Inside" and "Go Hard or Go Home" are a fiery uptempo hard rock while the title track is an absolute goody smokey rock and roll piece. "Monday Morning Meltdown" is a fun mid-tempo Cheap Trick-meets-Green Day track, "Best Mistake I Never Made" is a wonderful easy listening country/folk influenced track, and "Make 'Em Dance" is a classy party groove. The rest are good, some are decent, but with only 9 tracks, the album felt pretty short and you'll feel the show is over before you reached the climax. For fans of traditional heavy metal/hard rock or Helix hardcore, "Vagabond Bones" is a nice revisit to the old sound. Nothing's really spectacular, nothing's really new, it's just a plain good ol' rock and roll.