On May 22, Neck of the Woods will be releasing their self-titled debut, Neck of the Woods (duh.). Now, this is markedly NOT May 22nd, so guess what? I GET TO HEAR IT FIRST! Suck that Todd! If you like a slab of progressive death metal hailing from the frozen north, Neck of the Woods is your jam!
Neck of the Woods hails from Vancouver, Canada, and is comprised of 5 members: Dave Carr- Guitar, Travis Hein- Guitar, Jeff Radomsky- Vocals, Jason Puder- Bass (no longer with the band as of the time of this article), and Jeff Brown- Drums. Their debut album, Neck of the Woods, brings us a very hot piece of sexy metallic noise. A heavy backdrop of rhythmic pounding, rounded out with some fantastic double kick work, gives the frame work for Carr and Hein to throw some destructive riffing at you as they follow beat for beat with Brown. Filled out by some sick vocal work by Radomsky, Neck of the Woods is a wild ride of technical savagery similar to Between the Buried and Me and Continuum.
The sound of the album is heavy, clear, and lacking in the ‘complex for no reason’ category. Neck of the Woods doesn’t seek to mire the album in pointless noodling, but instead rush on towards a very satisfying payoff on each of the 6 tracks. In a relatively short time, for a progressive band at least (under 30 minutes, whole album), we are treated to a buffet of heavy riffs, some excellent fret work and runs, effective use of effects to aid the guitar instead of just burying it, and a very listener friendly band performance that will definitely get some repeats. Excellent point, the song Two Smokes: starts off a bit slow, with a very solid drum section and guitar using echo on a very simple and solid little riff, with bass walking a wide road in the background. When the lead kicks in, the song is absolutely gorgeous, running the spectrum of bright to dark, and just getting the blood pumping fast and hard. The song speeds up nicely, and we are treated to what could easily be a early-albums BTBAM track.
The album is a rock solid debut from a new band, and should fast track them in the metal pantheon. The album is planned for a May 22nd release this year, with digital and physical copies planned. For a download of Left Behind and Two Smokes, check out Neck of the Woods’ Bandcamp, Here, and here for a stream of I Know Where I’ll Bury You HERE.
