On the Edge

Often, a band’s name and cover art alone suffice to catch my interest. This is true of the American band Volture, as their Shocking Its Prey EP (2011) instantly drew me in. I remember delighting in the laid back and rocking cheesiness of “Volture” and “Heavy Metal Machine” before stumbling across their first full-length release, On The Edge, in 2013.

Right away, you can tell they’ve polished up their sound (which is often the case between demos and first releases) and applied themselves to delivering a nice, compact and solid effort. On the other hand, the album comes across as slightly too congruous for its own good. Separately, all nine tracks are competent and well played, yet as whole, they sound prosaic, adhering to a tried and true method that could still benefit from innovation, if only to unleash the beast I know resides within. Regardless, Volture's On The Edge makes for an enjoyable listen. I wouldn’t quite call it a masterpiece, but it has its moments.

It all begins with the self-titled track, drawing you in with its NWOBHM style guitar riffs and Jack Bauer’s high-pitched vocals. It also sets the tone for the remainder of the album’s short duration =- roughly 34 minutes. As stated, their formula is steady and won't disappoint. The main guitar riffs are quite impressive, such as on "Hot Wired" and "Heatseeker", even if leads aren’t particularly spectacular. However, it’s important to keep in mind the band is still in its infancy; the members' potential and passion are evident. As for bass and drums, they assure a groovy 70s rock style vibe.

On vocals, Jack Bauer does a fairly good job except for over crooning on “Desert Pursuit”, also going overboard with his wails on “Rock You Hard". In fairness, the chorus’ generally hit the mark, notably the one from “Ride the Night”, where he paints a fitting image of the band’s bravado:

"We chase the night until the dawn breaks up ahead
The fire burns inside it drives us to the edge
And all I see turns into dust beneath my wheels
The motor runs and the road is all I feel"

He then settles in on “Brethren of the Coast” and “Hot Wired”. Lyrical themes range from seedy and lewd undertones (“Heatseeker”) and pirate lore (“Brethren of the Coast”) to straight up rebellion and lawlessness (“Hot Wired”). Personally, I’m inclined towards the pure metal blitz of “On The Edge” or “Ride The Night”, alongside doomsday-themed “Nightrance”.

The rubber meets the road on “Heatseeker”, my top track, for which the main guitar riff sounds totally badass due to its sheer straight-forwardness. Looking back, On the Edge is a decent album worthy of inclusion within any traditional heavy metal fan’s record collection. Mahybe the next time around, they'll mesh the rawness and brawn of their demo with refined tone of their debut to produce a stand-out sophomore release.

A lot of things have changed in camp Volture since their 2011 Shocking Its Prey EP, not least the dissolution of their label, Heavy Artiller Records, prompting this move to Germany's High Roller for their debut album. There has been some lineup changes to, with the much lauded Brent Hubbard out and the untried and untested Jack Bauer in on vocals and Dave Boyd from US Power Metal crew Twisted Tower Dire adding a second guitar for the first time in the band's (recorded) history. For some that connection will give a new lease to check the band out if they had either believed the negative hype before, or reacted against their positive press, but undoubtedly the shitflingers will still have their day, overplaying the connections to party bands Municipal Waste and Cannabis Corpse. If at the end of this album Volture still have their critics though then that is their loss frankly, not the band's. This is as solid as it gets.

Even fans of the band's previous EP might be rallying against this new effort as I can forsee a lot of people not being convinced with Bauer as a worthy replacement for Brent Hubbard, and holding up the frankly quite weak “Desert Pursuit” as an example, they may have a point. Nearly everywhere else on this album though the new guy proves to be at least the equal of his predecessor, and the vocal lines which become one of Volture's most diverse and strongest elements are a big step up from those on Shocking Its Prey. “Hotwired” would be the best showing of this were it not for the marching pace of closing epic number “Deep Dweller” that combined with the unique “whoa-oh-oh” vocals and sweet melodic guitar tone give off something of a US Power Metal vibe, somewhere in between Attacker and Warlord. Anyone wanting to write this off as yet another Tokyo Blade-derivative Enforcer clone is not going to have an easy time of it.

Compared to their Swedish brethren Volture are much less concise and focussed in their musical approach and sometimes shaky in their execution of riskier musical ideas, and that perhaps is the deciding factor in the Swedes ultimately remaining the better of the 2 bands. One idea that doesn't quite pay off is the slower tempos at the start of “Heat Seeker”, though it does redeem itself as a mid-tempo rocker not unlike a more sleazed-up High Spirits. Follow-up track “Rock You Hard” doesn't quite manage the same though and becomes the sort of filler that was so much easier to avoid on the band's previous and much shorter release.

Elsewhere the only criticism I can make are minor- for example as much as I love how the chorus refrain to “Brethren Of The Coast” comes in the verse rather than the chorus I do think it could benefit from a few more repetitions just for maximum effect. The fact is though it can't bring down a track so strong in every other respect, from the nice and varied vocal performance to the obviously Maiden-influenced guitar leads that are so appropriate for a nautical themed song. The opening title track is also worth mentioning for how it out-Swedes the Swedes at their own game for adding a slight Overdrive/Gotham City streak to its otherwise Enforcer-style speedy attack, but my single favourite moment on the album comes with righteous pre-chorus riff to “Nightrance” that seemingly utilises every single fret on the neckboard. At the end of the album the unfortunate thing transpires that Volture may have spread themselves too thick on this album, and in their haste to prove themselves different to their contemporaries by hook or by crook they have failed to add a unifying factor or theme to this collection of songs. If nothing else though On The Edge will prove their haters wrong- forget them as bit players in the modern Heavy Metal scene- there is absolutely no foolin' around from Volture. [7/10]

From WAR ON ALL FRONTS A.D. 2013 zine- www.facebook.com/waronallfronts