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12 Gauge: All In
12 Gauge: All In
(Melodic) Heavy Rock
3.0/5.0
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Flicknife Records
by Craig Hartranft, 26.03.2014
12 Gauge is a hard and heavy rock band from somewhere in western England, launching their debut album All In. Their influences swing from hard rock to heavy metal, from old to new, including Metallica and Aerosmith, Velvet Revolver and Alterbridge, maybe even a touch of American southern rock.
12 Gauge: less than a half dozen.
But let's get straight to the point and the main difficulty with All In, as this is going to make for a short review. It's the vocals.
Whether by choice or accident, you barely hear or understand J. Michael Ward's voice. It's almost as if he didn't show up for the recording. Or maybe the other band members don't like his singing and slipped the producer or mixer some extra quid to give him the shaft, bumping up their parts. Maybe Ward doesn't even like to hear himself sing. But I digress. To be fair, you might hear Ward better at the beginning of Little Things.
Otherwise, for the music, this is really good heavy rock with sound melody, strong riffs, a beefy rhythm section, and sharp guitar solos. I could point to some notable songs, but I would be merely repeating that last sentence. I think I've said enough.
12 Gauge - Hell to the Morning (Teaser)
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In Short
With squashed, barely discernable, vocals12 Gauge still offers melodic heavy rock with sound melody, strong riffs, a beefy rhythm section, and sharp guitar solos.
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