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Artist: Glyder |
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Back in 2006, a small Irish band called Glyder were being hailed as possible successors to Thin Lizzy, after the release of their self-titled debut album. 5 years down the line, after 3 studio albums, a short lived break-up and a 'Best Of' album (if you could call it that), Glyder are back with a new vocalist and album. 'Backroads To Byzantium' is a hard-hitting album in parts, almost a personal one, largely written by guitarist Bat Kinane, focusing mainly, it seems, on a once again troubled Ireland and issues maybe close to his heart. One instant recognition is the change of the vocalist style of the band. Jackie Robinson's voice had more life to it than what was the case beforehand, though I must admit Tony Cullen did suit their previous work compared to now. The album begins on a heaver note than we're used to, 'Chronicled Deceit' being a very guitar-orientated grinding riff affair, similar to what Diamond Head were like in their early days. Jackson stamps his authority from the word go, so it seems that the new line-up has brought a new lease of life to the band in 2011. That new heavier context continues into 'Long Gone' and the harder hitting 'Fade To Dust', its non-nonsense tub thumping beat the life and soul of the song. Throw in a corker of a solo that would set the fingers alight, then you know you've got a damn good song on your hands. Glyder have still held their duel guitar sections close to their hearts, the one thing that had the journo's drooling over them with the Lizzy stories, and they show those skills off on 'Even If I Don't Know where I'm Gonna Go'. You can almost visualise Phil Lynott standing in front of his mic with his black and silver bass giving his all along with his band. The tell-tale intro of a sad lonely voice asking for some spare change shows how 'Down And Out' is going to pan out even before Robinson opens his mouth to sing. It opens the door to a slow sorry story of a man living rough on the street, nowhere to go, achingly sang over a stark soundtrack that only adds to the thought provoking theme it portrays. No matter how it makes people feel, awkward or sad, you've got to ay well done to Glyder for reminding us all of other peoples plight in the world today. Fortunately for some, the band return to a more comfortable place on 'Something She Knows', its easy foot tapping tempo that we associate with the band helps hide any guilty feelings, and as the final notes of the fast paced 'Two wrongs' fade out with another quick dueled blast, the conscience is again clear. 'End Of The Line' is possibly the closest that the band come to sounding like their "old" selves. Back then, they had a bassy tone on their earlier albums as this song does, not compared to what they have now. It's more crisp, sharp texture within the mix on this album and that's the big difference to Glyder today. Even the acoustic ballad 'Motions Of Time' takes them to a place they may not have tried too hard to go to once upon a time, so something must be going on for the better within the band now. Maybes all the talk of being on par with Thin Lizzy had taken its toll on Glyder, preventing the band to continue as it was, who knows? The only thing now is for this band to forget about all of that and concentrate on what they want and not what others want them to be. Judging by 'Backroads To Byzantium' that's exactly what they've achieved. Review by: Bob Baldwin |
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| Tracklisting:
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Chronicled Deceit |
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