Exposure to a plethora of musicians outside of the domestic scene has been one of the fruitful aspects to metal journalism over the years. Especially acts like Grey Attack that develop a sound which straddles the bluesy hard rock and melodic heavy metal niches in a bit of a pointed, darker direction. Founded in 2013, they’ve developed three albums to date – inspiration running strong going into this fourth record, the ironically titled Back to Greysland. The overall atmosphere present in these twelve tracks showcases a four-piece that revel in this stark contrast of influences that can be hypnotizing one moment, yet reflective or highly infectious in the comfortable hook engagement.
Immediately noticeable in the first pass of the record is the mid-range croon of guitarist Grey Charlez. Aware of his magnetic melodies in lower ranges to subsequently rise in a bluesy edge not dissimilar to say The Moody Blues or others in more of an alternative/gothic-like timber, he positions himself brilliantly to carry key choruses and main verse points that keep “We Want It All” as well as the alluring “I Am – You Are” head turners, the latter containing a very simplified yet utterly effective lead break during the final measures. Extra sound effects such as military feet marching next to a syncopated drum/guitar attack allows “Soldiers” to be an early standout, while the band’s love of early Nazareth or The Scorpions comes into focus during the obvious swinging chord progressions and playful vocal / musical pushback for “I Love Rock ‘n Roll”. Even the ballads differ from one another – “The Fire” introspective in its clean guitar employment next to an explosive lead break from Wulff Maahn while “Story of You” has more of an epic power ballad feel, Grey using his vocal prowess to give off some interesting harmonization in the Zebra-like chorus. Most of the material has this in your face, raw quality that probably comes from a lively sound you’d expect from the band when hitting the stage – adding more to the throwback nature present.
As great as things appear on the surface, this could be a hit or miss effort in terms of long-range appeal – because Grey Attack rarely move beyond a specific mid-tempo climate or key melodic / hook terrain that could represent dynamic intrigue. Back to Greysland probably has more appeal to Generation X than Millennials, so be prepared before settling in.