Bone Shaker-Union

Firewalk
2009


Wisconsin based trio follow-up 2007's "Bang,...You're Dead" with their latest effort. Now I loved their last previous album, but admittedly they were very much following their influences. So the result was a classic style metal disc owing much to WASP, Judas Priest, Iron maiden, Grim Reaper and others. Now obviously the band has felt the need to reach out and establish their own sound. The influences are still there in places only Bone Shaker have tried to build on them rather than just channeling the ideas. The results are mixed, but mainly successful. The overall sound is certainly more varied than on the last album. There are more pace changes within individual songs this time around. it doesn't always work, but it certainly adds some flexibility to their sound and they exhibit a fair amount of control. Now admittedly it took me longer to get into "Union" than it did for "Bang,... you're dead" and that's mainly because the material on the lat album was instantly familiar because it was so like other bands I knew. However, Bone Shaker are going through a transition of trying to evolve in both writing and playing. They have pulled upon various ideas this time around. It's not just 80's metal this time around because there are some more modern sounds, hard rock and others stirred into the pot for this release. Not every track is great, but I appreciate the effort and I think that they are on the right track. I am certainly interested in seeing where they go next.




www.myspace.com/boneshakerinfo