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Artist: Kortini |
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Anyone out there with the
'Green Dollar Colour' debut album will instantly recognise Lex Kortini's
voice and will know they are going to get nothing but good hard, melodic
rock from him and the band, on this album 'Game Of Fools', as this is what
he's all about and no doubt you will enjoy.
As '155' explodes into life with the double guitar riffs, the word 'disappointment' doesn't enter your head. Tipping its hat towards AC/DC, this song takes no prisoners as the thudding drumbeat and choppy guitars never give up, and it's no real surprise to find that a certain MIKE FRASER is again at the mixing desk, no doubt feeling well at home with the sounds coming from this band. 'Stab In The Back' is just as ballsy. All scratchy guitar licks in gravelly vocals top of the list here, where 'Roll The Dice' has a bounce along drumbeat that hints of a fellow Aussie band with a school kid on guitar! The same can be said of 'V8 Fantasy', where Kortini seems to be singing about having control of a white machine with 400 horses under the hood, waiting to take you for a ride! Yes, well ... Things are slowed down a notch or two on 'You vs Me', a bit of a grunge sounding track in most parts, with that heavy pounding guitar you usually get, accompanied by some heavy drum-work by Chris Brown on his behalf, before the atmosphere turns a bit on the lighter side for 'By My Side', that continues through the song, almost KISS-like to be exact. There's no escaping that MIKE FRASER effect on the band because 'Nobody's Home' and 'Game Of Fools' in particular scream out 'DC again, maybes even Airbourne for those newer bands, so not bad company to be compared with there then. The questions is, will fans of these two bands take Kortini to their hearts so keenly, or is that something else to content with? Mid-pacer 'Tornado Dreaming' couldn't be any heavier from the others, almost delving into the heavy stuff you get from early Metallica, before sliding into the less growling 'Tornado Dreaming II', still hard edged but without that gloomy feeling to it. You even get shared vocals here, which is a first on the album, albeit 12 tracks in! The acoustic guitar that brings in 'The Devil's Daughter' is only a smokescreen for what's to come, as you still get the blast of rocked up guitar and thumping skins, though there's a tad softer edge to the song than there is to any of the others. Kortini still pushes himself to the limit vocally when he could possibly have backed off a touch, but never mind, he does so right at the end to match up with the acoustic guitar, bringing the album to a nice quiet finish. Listening to 'Games Of Fools', it shows just how far Lex Kortini has come over the last few years, and with this band, can only get better as they go on. Definitely a band to watch out for and, oh, well done to Mark Wilkinson for a really good album cover too!. Review by: Bob Baldwin |
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Tracklisting:
01.
155
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All content copyright of The Mayfair Mall Zine unless otherwise stated. |
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