And, up until recently, this band remained out of my mind. For various reasons, I never bothered to cast my mind back to this band. But then I was chatting to a member of an unsigned band who mentioned they were planning on making an effort to do some shows in the UK some time in the future and I found myself thinking "Hmm...I wonder who they might tour with?"
And my first thought...was Primitai, surprisingly!
Then I thought again and went "Hold on...what was that band from Ireland that I checked out ages ago?"
One quick google search later, I found Bakken again and figured "Well, why not get their album again for a review?" So, I downloaded their album off of bandcamp again (it's available on a pay what you want basis) and put it on.
Am I more impressed now than I was back then? Well, read on and find out!
Bakken are a relatively new power/thrash metal band from Belfast in Northern Ireland, forming in 2011. This album, their 2012 debut, appears to be their first release, from what I've seen, and the band's line up has been mostly consistent since they formed: drummer and backing vocalist Niall McGrotty, guitarist Mark-Anthony Mcgennis and guitarist/lead vocalist Simon Pickett have been together since the band formed and the band have so far only had one line up change, swapping from bassist Brian O'Kane (who played on this album) to bassist Adrian Stockman. They've mentioned an upcoming EP on their Facebook page, but I don't think it's finished yet, as it doesn't seem to be available anywhere yet.
First up, the cover. Well, I have to be honest, my ONLY real complaint is the colour scheme feels a bit too focused on the use of various shades of brown, as it can blend together a bit more than it should do. I think it might have benefitted from using a slightly wider variety of colours, as it might have made it more appealing to look at it. Other than that, though, I really like it! Sure, it's not exactly the most impressive cover, but, considering what you expect from a metal album, it manages to hit the spot perfectly between an old school mentality and a modern mentality. I really like the oncoming storm feeling of it, but the album title kind of gives you the idea that the storm is a tribute to a fallen hero. So, great work on the cover art, guys! Just please try to include a better colour scheme next time, I don't think that varying shades of brown is especially appealing to look at!
So, now that that is done, let's move to the actual music on the album.
One of the first things that will be noticed by most listeners is Simon's vocals. He sounds surprisingly like modern day James Hetfield (Metallica), but without the "HEY YEAH" verbal tic that's somewhat become his trademark and with a slightly different tone to his voice. I also think he sounds a bit like a slightly lower voiced Matt Heafy (Trivium), but this is likely to just be a case of shared singing influences, since Heafy is a huge fan of Metallica. There is still an aggressive edge to Simon's voice, but it's definitely not to the extent of Chuck Billy (Testament), Steve "Zetro" Souza (Exodus, Hatriot) or Dave Mustaine (Megadeth). I wouldn't say this is necessarily a bad thing, but I think his very noticeable resemblance to Hetfield will hamper the band's chances of success outside of the metal underground scene (after all, being a Hetfield clone is not really an acceptable thing these days in the metal scene), so I would encourage Simon to try to find his own unique style within what he can do with his voice. If this is all he can do with his voice, then maybe taking a leaf from Helloween and finding another vocalist might be an idea worth looking in to? Simon isn't bad by any measure, but I fear that, without a distinctive voice to help them to stand out from the pack, they will get missed very easily.
The other performances across the album are pretty good, if somewhat standard by thrash and power metal standards: you don't see anything amazingly technical from the band, but their performances are strong enough for you to appreciate that the musicians have a reasonable degree of proficiency with their instruments. Niall's drumming manages to avoid completely falling into the cliche of "double bass assault" throughout the whole album, but I think a bit more variety in the drumming might have been a good idea, as he does tend to go for the double bass a bit more than he really should do. If Niall is reading this, may I suggest taking a few more cues from hard rock bands like Kiss and Led Zeppelin and try to encourage the guys to write one or two songs where you don't need to drum like a typical metal drummer all of the time? A few of those songs will help to give Bakken's next album more variety and showcase your drumming talents better than constantly using the double bass will. As much as this might sound like an insult to people with more drumming knowledge than me, look at Lars Ulrich's drumming in "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)": he mostly plays to the song and doesn't bring out the double bass on that song, and it arguably shows how versatile a drummer Lars can be when you compare his drumming there to on "Hit The Lights". There's nothing wrong with playing more simple drumming if it would benefit the song more than the expected style of drumming would, if you see the point I'm making!
The guitar work on the album is pretty much typical thrash metal guitar playing (with hints of Megadeth's more progressive touch...although definitely not to the extent of Heathen and Forbidden's brand of progressive thrash!), so you pretty much know what to expect there if you've heard any of Metallica or Megadeth's 80's albums. However, there's also a more melodic edge to their style of playing that makes me think a bit of early Helloween and some US power metal a la Jag Panzer, Iced Earth (well, when Schaffer isn't pulling out the iconic Iced Earth riff that's pretty much Steve Harris' bass triplets replicated on the guitar...) and Skullview (and the number of people who are going to know who they are is probably smaller than the population of Soay...I would explain where Soay is, but I have a feeling that most people would be staring at this review as if I'd suddenly swapped to speaking in Greek if I did, so I'll just say it's not far from Skye and let you guys google it (and Skullview) in your free time. And yes, I have actually been there!). I'd say this gives them a slight edge that a lot of typical thrash metal bands don't seem to have, as it can be tough to play melodically and quickly at the same time without it all starting to blend together into a large mess of noise and this awareness of melody gives them a way to sound distinctive without necessarily sacrificing anything.
The bass...well, it's mostly just there. I've not really noticed it much during my listens to the album, but, when I have noticed it, it's been well played. I wouldn't say Brian O'Kane is on the level of Cliff Burton by any measure, though. Mind you, Burton was a legendary bassist, so I guess that's not really a fair comparison. He doesn't seem to completely suffer from the usual issue that a lot of bassists do of just following the guitars, but I don't hear him doing anything really distinctive a lot of the time. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I would like to hear a bassist in a modern band (and not one with a strong progressive lean, either!) who is willing to be adventurous with their playing and is capable of actually having a commanding presence in the mix of their album, as it does get dull to hear bassists who mostly seem to think that they have to follow the guitars to fit in with the song. Which isn't true: you just need to put some time into writing your bass line to make sure it isn't clashing with the chord that the guitars are playing and still fits in with what the song is going for (to give a rather drastic example, you shouldn't start playing bass as if you're on a Motown record when you're part of a death metal band!).
The band's sound is pretty much how I described the guitar playing: mostly 80's thrash based, but with a more melodic touch to it and a hint of a progressive lean that will bring Metallica or Megadeth to mind. I would kind of like to see the band explore this more melodic part on their sound more than they do across the album: the only time they really go all out with it is on "Back To The Future" (which, sadly, is not about the film series...), which is one of my favourite tracks on the album! The most thrash focused track is another favourite of mine, "The Cursed", so this criticism isn't intended to say that the band can't write good thrash metal: they can! I just think it might be interesting to see the band explore some stuff more like what they were doing on "Back To The Future" in the future, as I think they're starting to find something interesting with that and, with a bit of work to combine that more with their thrash sound (and maybe a bit of influence from Irish folk music? OK, I'm probably one of a small number of people hoping for the band to do that, but I love Irish folk music when I'm not listening to metal and I think that older sound might help them to find their own unique sound more! The start of "Get Back To Your Feet" had a feel to it that I think could have been better realised with some folk influence to it and "Sasquatch" has a lead guitar moment that brings to mind some Irish folk influences...although it's not impossible that the band were taking influence from Gary Moore and not Irish folk music there!), I think they could start to find their own sound much better. If they do want to do this, I think Simon's voice could turn from being a potential hinderance into an asset: very few power metal vocalists sound like James Hetfield and, with a sound that mixes power metal and thrash metal (and a bit of Irish folk? I know, I can dream...) with a slight progressive lean, I reckon the band could very easily throw off the potential Metallica/Megadeth clone accusations. At the moment, the accusations, while not entirely fair due to Bakken's more melodic lean, are unfortunately not completely without merit. While there is nothing particularly wrong with sounding like Metallica meets Megadeth (heck, a lot of metal fans probably will want to see that!), I personally think that it might be wise for Bakken to better incorporate the more melodic touch of their sound into the thrash backbone they have and try to do something more unique with it (hence the Irish folk suggestion, although that one is more to my personal preference than anything else, so a pinch of salt should be taken if Bakken are reading this: what I really like might not be what everyone else does!), as it would do them a lot more favours in the long run than sticking with a sound like the one on their debut.
The production is pretty much your modern thrash metal production: fairly clean (although Bakken do manage to get a bit of an old school feel to the production as well, which is certainly commendable!), a bit loud on the mastering (which, in my honest opinion, is a flaw in ANY album, but I can understand why it would work for thrash metal in particular: it's MEANT to be loud and fast, so a mastering job which suits that is perfect! Well, unless you do something like Death Magnetic or World Painted Blood, of course...), heavy on the guitars (to the point that Simon can sometimes get a bit lost in the mix when he's not singing at his loudest...although, to be fair, the guitar tone on this album is so good that I'm not too bothered by this one!) and suspiciously lacking in the bass guitar if you're not playing the album at the loudest (which, due to the mastering, is actually not a sensible idea for your ears). If you're OK with the production of most modern thrash albums, you'll probably be fine with this, but, if you're one of those people who prefer the old school feel of 80's thrash metal records and finds modern production ruins the final product, this is not going to win you over.
So, final thoughts? Well, Bakken have put out a rather solid (if slightly unoriginal) debut album in the form of Death Of A Hero, and I'm surprised I didn't realise how strong it was when I first got it! There are still areas of improvement in the band's sound and I feel they still have the potential to release a better album, but what they have provided so far is very enjoyable. I won't say that I expect Bakken to be huge in the future, but I feel a bit like I'm looking at the modern day version of Helloween's Walls Of Jericho here: what they've provided is really good, but I have a feeling that what they release next, if they do take the time to develop their sound more, could be even better!
...So, no pressure, guys: I just compared your debut album to that of Helloween's debut! Just promise me that you'll try to make sure your next album is more like your Keeper Of The Seven Keys and less like your Chameleon, OK?
Final Rating: 7 Out Of 10
A very good debut that shows a band who still have room to grow. It's worth keeping an eye on these guys if you're interested in thrash and power metal, as I have a feeling they could go on to do great things!
Personal Favourite Tracks: "The Cursed", "Back To The Future"
(Link to the band's bandcamp page, if you wish to download the album: http://bakken1.bandcamp.com/)
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