Monument
Hair of the Dog

Hair of the dog can be quite annoying, sticking to clothes and makes you need to clean your residence all the time – it is one of the drawbacks of having furry animals and perhaps that is something these guys have, hence the name of their second album. Looking at the artwork of these Brits it is difficult not to be overcome by a feeling of it being something old, something rather stereotypical. And being British with a vocalist that sounds more or less exactly like the one that sings in the most iconic band of the NWOBHM-thing doesn’t exactly do anything to change that perception.

It could be any Iron Maiden album from the eighties with a slightly more modern sound, a meaner writer could claim that that they sound like a tribute band to said band rather than a band making their own stuff. I am not that mean but I can hardly say that they reinvent the wheel or surprise me with their new clever way of expressing the heavy metal genre, they seem to be content to be a part of the so-called NNWOBHM-movement. Singer sounds like Bruce Dickinson and throwing out names like Dickinson, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest is more or less all you need in order to form yourself something of an idea about how these guys sound.

We are treated to the heavy metal standard selection of songs, riffs, catchy choruses, solos and every other trick in the heavy metal handbook. Decent production and vocalist, I am very sure that fans of NWOBHM-bands like previously mentioned Iron Maiden will be very impressed with this album. I think it is good for what it is but it is not an album that should impress any critic as it does not really play on things that should impress critics, it is more geared to those fans who are afraid of change within their favourite genre. With that said, I think it could appeal to quite a wide variety of fans, provided that they haven’t already heard enough of this album before they have even heard it because to be completely honest, I would say that every song and every note on this album is a copy of (or shall we call it homage to) something from an Iron Maiden album of the eighties. So creatively they are satisfied not to come up with anything whatsoever, and fans will probably enjoy their music just because of that.

The songs are good on the album but I think that the opening title track and the ending track called Lionheart are the best on the album, although they are not really that memorable either just quite entertaining. I think that we can describe this album as an album by fans for fans, and I am sure that the fans will approve.

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