The Lucky Ones

2018 release. Upon recovering from being steamrolled over by the onslaught of Satan's Satyrs' new album, The Lucky Ones, one's likely to wonder just what exactly it was that just hit them. A punky, sleaze rock groove (perhaps even a whiff of '70s glam) meets NWOBHM melodic fury, Blue Cheer mass and volume, and Ozzy's dramatic charisma condensed into a sound all it's own, perhaps. At it's core is an unstoppable, unpretentious exorcism of rock 'n' roll exuberance. A significant difference on this album from the band's previous releases is the addition of second guitarist Nate Towle, which expands the band's steamrolling capacity tenfold. Bassist / vocalist Clayton Burgess (Electric Wizard), Towle, guitarist Jarrett Nettnin and drummer Stephen Fairfield convened at the Richmond, VA studio of Windhand guitarist Garrett Morris, working in fits and starts over several months, first quickly capturing the raw energy of a band firing on all cylinders, then fine-tuning the sounds and experimenting to get everything massive. Likewise, Burgess' lyrics show new levels of achievement. The twin guitar assault begins from the very first beat of the album and never relents until the last second of the nine track, thirty-five minute album. Opener Thrill of the City wastes no time launching into soaring harmonized riffs and swaggering rhythms setting the scene for a debauched good time. The title track, perhaps the most personal song on the album, is also the most unabashedly melodic. Trampled By Angels pits a swinging T Rex-vibe against dizzy, noisy guitars and lyrics about a pioneer of fetish photography using his medium to express forbidden desires to the world. Likewise, the whole album is a vibrant, brash and loud expression of defiance against convention that refuses to be ignored.