Year Long Disaster - Year Long Disaster
Volcom
Hard Rock
11 songs (48'11)
Release year: 2007
Year Long Disaster, Volcom
Reviewed by Khelek

There aren't many things I like more than a really catchy, heavy, and just plain fun hard rock album. That is exactly what Year Long Disaster has accomplished here in their first studio album. If you are into bands such as Astral Doors, Dio, Priestess, Spiritual Beggars, etc. this is right up your alley. The first thing I noticed on this album is the guitars. The guitar riffs are very catchy, memorable and, above all else, HEAVY! There isn't a whole lot of soloing or complexity, but that's not entirely necessary on an album like this. The first track kicks off the album with a great hard rock anthem, Per Qualche Dollaro In Piu, which really gets the energy of the music going with memorable guitar riffs and lyrics. The songs mostly follow in this same vein for the first nine tracks of the album, with Destination being a bit slower but turning out to be one of the most memorable tracks and a personal favorite of mine. Other than that the guys keep a pretty steady mid-pace throughout most of the disk, although the end of the album gets a bit slower, most notably in the balladesque Swan On The Black Lake, the first half of which has a great melancholy atmosphere created by acoustic guitars, violins, and the haunting voice of singer Daniel Davies. The final track, ballad Names Of God, also shows the band's softer side and is equally impressive. Davies voice is probably most comparable to Mikey Heppner of Priestess or perhaps a rougher version of Cedric Bixler-Zavala from The Mars Volta, but these comparisons do not do justice to the man's voice, you really just have to hear it. He stays in a pretty safe vocal range for the whole album, but I think this is acceptable since it fits the music perfectly and this is the band's first album. I also must mention the guitar work in Galea Aponeurotica because, while it may sound crazy and all over the place at times, it grew on me and became another one of my favorite songs.

Year Long Disaster has shown on this album that they have strong ties to older hard rock and heavy metal, yet they know how to blend their influences in a way that is original and extremely enjoyable to listen to. I have listened to this album straight through probably about ten times so far and it hasn't gotten old yet. There are not a whole lot of albums I can say the same for! I think that if these guys are half as talented as I think they are, they will continue honing their skills and come out with something even better the next time around. If you are any kind of hard rock/heavy metal fan I recommend buying this album and putting these guys on your list of groups to watch in the future. This band is definitely going places!

Killing Songs :
Leda Atomica, Destination, It Ain't Luck, Galea Aponeurotica, Swan On The Black Lake
Khelek quoted 82 / 100
Other albums by Year Long Disaster that we have reviewed:
Year Long Disaster - Black Magic; All Mysteries Revealed reviewed by Khelek and quoted 87 / 100
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