Viking Skull – Cursed By The Sword
Viking Skull – Cursed By The Sword CD (Transcend Music Group)
Sometimes you just need to rock. Shut out the world, turn down the lights, turn up the stereo, and – beer in hand – just let it go. If you’re looking for a new album to fit that bill, get your hands on ‘Cursed By The Sword’ immediately. With this release, Viking Sword make it clear who they are, where they come from, and what their intentions are. They are a band of rock-bastard metalheads out for a good – and loud – time. They hail from the UK and clearly were raised on a steady diet of Dio-era Black Sabbath, KISS, Motorhead, and other bands forged in the credo of ‘live by the riff, die by the riff’. They want to drink, rock, drink some more, wander off for some backstage fun, get some more drinks, then rock some more. Then they want to do it all over again tomorrow. Everything about this record makes it perfect for letting go of everything else and just blowing off some steam. It’s loud, well-recorded, full of huge riffs that could have (and in at least two cases, kinda did) come from classic records like Rainbow’s ‘Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll’ or W.A.S.P.’s eponymous debut, with easily decipherable (and easy to learn) lyrics about having a debaucherous good time. More modern-oriented rock fans need not fear – there are moments of southern-fried riffery that would not be out of place on albums by any number of stoner rock bands, from Clutch to Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster, plus Fireball Ministry’s Reverend Jim makes a well-placed, smoke-filled appearance. Oh yeah. Sometimes you just need to rock. The Impaler @impalerspeaks
