It’s always in the solos. That’s the moment when arena rock bands reveal that they want to be arena rock bands.
Take Black Smoke Trigger. Yeah, they can brood a bit on “Phantom Pain,” but by the solo…full-on, proper screeching.
Same on the one that follows. BST six-stringer Charlie Wallace is giving it his best Slash on “K.M.T.L.”
None of this is coming as a shock to anyone who saw the New Zealanders on their recent tour with Bruce Dickinson.
You couldn’t watch them on those shows and not be impressed. It was immediately obvious that they knew exactly what they were doing, and far from being fazed by such an endeavour, they were relishing it.
That’s because, largely, they have songs made for big stages. Some bands—think Stone Temple Pilots, for example—just had a sound that screamed arenas at you. Black Smoke Trigger has it too. You can imagine fists in the air as soon as Baldrick bellows, “The Way Down.”
It’s more than a cunning plan (sorry, I’ll sack myself); it’s shot through the ballad “Perfect Torture” (that one stood out with Bruce too).
Everything swaggers here. “Proof Of Life,” but on the bass of Dan Fulton, thinks about restraining itself but then thinks, “Why bother?” There are U.S. bands that pack 10,000 in every night and aren’t anywhere near this good.
“Polished” is often meant as criticism, but not here. It’s what “Horizons” is meant to be. It’s recorded with Nick Raskulinecz (who’s worked with everyone) for that reason.
“Learn To Crawl” absolutely polished, in that good way, and when they let themselves go on the brilliant “Set Me On Fire,” they merrily dip their toes into some Foo Fighters-esque waters, seemingly just to show Dave Grohl how it’s done.
Whether “Psycho” is written from a personal standpoint, who knows? It’s angry, though. And I think I’ve been out with her.
It’s funny, on reflection, to listen to these songs—which, like “One More Chance (Don’t Let It Slip Away),” are all as primed and ready as can be—and to wonder how far bands can go in the Spotify era. How do you build the career you deserve?
The answer, I suppose, lies in the old maxim of “be so good, they can’t ignore you.” That appears to be the thinking behind “Never Dies,” which wraps its darker riffing with a chorus that probably requires you to be vaccinated, so infectious is it.
Calling this record a throwback might make it sound like “classic rock” and dated. It’s not, but it does have traits of the classic albums of the late ’80s and early ’90s, not least a second ballad late on (Skid Row were the masters of this). “Sun Cries Red” is more than happy to make a statement, and if “Promise” injects a little more energy, then “statement” feels like the right word. The fact it is written about Wallace’s mothers cancer makes it even more important.
That’s what “Horizons” is: a brilliant modern rock album, but a statement of intent. And when it comes to hard rock—to paraphrase another New Zealand band—don’t dream it’s over, I guess.
For Black Smoke Trigger, with “Horizons,” the sky’s the limit.
Rating: 9/10
