There are five songs on “II” (plus a radio edit of the opener) but in truth, its going to take you a lot less time to see if Gallows Circus are the band for you.
Arguably, you can – pretty much – see if you like this without actually hearing it. “Hells Whiskey”, that’s the first track. “Medicine Man” that’s the next one, then there’s a “Hunt You Down” too.
And this isn’t a big reveal for a “ahhh but you can’t second guess them” type thing, nope. Because Gallows Circus are what they are: a big, brash, southern rock band that has a Soundgarden type soaring thing going on, and makes great songs.
They first emerged a couple of years ago, and when they were band of the day on this site, they were equal parts Guns N Roses and Skinny Molly. They still are.
Ian Day is a bandana wearing frontman of serious pipes. On “…Whiskey” he shows it, and on guitar Ben Attwood, is a serious hard rocker, screeching a solo out whenever you like, to be quite honest with you, and the band have a serious chemistry.
Masters, essentially of three minute rockers, they do a raw kind of blues on “Who Cares” with Day exploiting his range and perhaps best of all is the filthy bass of “Bring Your Crucifix” built on the four strings of Richard Tunbridge, but with a real glam rock sheen, there’s a power here – together with the suggestion that they would cheerfully bring a knife to a gunfight given half a chance.
The last one, the aforementioned “….Down” has a real scope, and is perfect for those that always have a bit of a thought that rockers should always ride a steel horse and when Day sings “Stand up and be counted Son, you’re just another bullet in the Devil’s gun” he does it with a glee. A glee, indeed that means he and the rest of Gallows Circus know this isn’t going to win any awards for originality (and that’s a compliment, believe me), but that it might be the record that the four men here have wanted to make all their lives.
Rating 8/10
