|
It is a tough job to come up with origonal music in this day and
age. Still, some bands manage to present a fresh sounding album. The
Canadian The Last Act ended up in my CD player and offered just
enough to stay there for some time. The four gents of The Last Act
mentioned on their website tob e inspired by bands such as Iron
Maiden, Black Sabbath and Kiss and this typical 80s hard rock sound
is heard on their second album No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.
Especially the melody lines and the vocals are very in the vein of
Iron Maiden, although I did pick up some Sabbath influences.
Fortunately they do not come off as a Maiden-clone, more like a
fresh version, as I was not overly impressed with their (Maiden)
last two albums. The Last Act has recorded the album independently
and you can hear that in the production, which is not entirely
spotless. But they bring their music with such enthusiasm, that I
forgive them that.
Next to a fine rhythm section in the persons Stan Engelage en Shawn
Speirs and the somewhat Ozzy like singer Colin Murphy, guitarist
Jeff Larsen stands out the most, with his solid riffs and great
solos. But, honestlky said, the music of The Last Act does not stand
out. The album has a balanced sound, but the excellent play of the
band make this a good album to listen to.
Still, a few songs deserve some extra attention: ‘Slave to the
Memory’, is like making a journey back in time, to the 70s…with a
nice crunch in the guitars and good bassplay. And the last song,
‘Struggle’ is definitely one of my favorites, because of the
passion, that just drips off.
The songs has
a bit slower pace, but that adds to the dark atmospheer.
It is these albums that make it fun to discover new music. As far as
I’m concerned, it does not all have to be as perfect as Dream
Theater of Ayreon, as long as it is played with heart and soul and
that is definitely the case with The Last Act.
Not as
original, but very good. |
