SHOTGUN ALLEY — Shotgun Alley (review)

SHOTGUN ALLEY — Shotgun Alley album cover Album · 2011 · Hard Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Stephen
Not often that I get to hear a hard rock band from New Zealand but I'm pretty surprised to found out that the quality they offered here is comparable to those who had went underground in Sunset Strip for probably more than 10 years. The musicianship is stunning and how they brought out the 80s feel within them and wrapped it with a contemporary blanket to prevent the outdated sound is a smart move.

But beware though, one could be disenchanted easily by the first four tracks. I think it's too average and unappealing and they should have mix the tracks sequence with big hits from the second half. 'Eventually', a superior ballad that looks like the first single from the band, started to pick up the momentum. This is the type of song that you get to hear on the radio everyday and it's a nicely done track. But 'Heart Like Glass', which has similar arrangement with the former, is slightly better in my opinion.

'Look At Me Now' is a huge uptempo tune with a sensational riffs and reminds me a lot to Crue's classic, 'Kickstart My Heart'. 'I Came Here To Love You', driven by keyboard, it blasted high with a superb melodic chorus. 'Suicide Boulevard', which was their original band name, is another hard rock gem with a stunning guitar solo. 'All We Know' and 'Can't Stop This' are excellent closer, both are very energetic and uplifting.

A little complain on the lyric department, sounds too superficial and needs a major upgrade, but since I always prioritize the music, that's not a big deal to me. Shame on at least 4 fillers, if only they can scrap them and write better tracks, this can be a massive surprise. Good debut though and interested to see more of this band in the future.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Human Rosin Melodic Metalcore
HATE BREEDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Through The Hell Hardcore Punk
ENEMY 906
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lightmatter: Rebirth Deathcore
EARTHGAZER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Eye Of Horus (Lightmatter EP Pt. 2) Deathcore
EARTHGAZER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Galaxy888 (Lightmatter EP Pt. 1) Deathcore
EARTHGAZER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 4 days ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 4 days ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 4 days ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 4 days ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed