Last Barons: Cheval De Troie

Listening to Last Barons' sophomore album, Cheval De Troie (translated as 'Trojan Horse'), quickly becomes a game of spot the influence. Not a good start. Opening track 'Shaman's Warning Song' has Faith No More written all over it, the Mike Patton rat-in-the-sewer vocals and the dirty, hypnotic rhythms and peculiar melodies all belong to Faith No More. The chromatic riffs and the whiny wails of 'Nomad Soul' of Dirt-era Alice in Chains are again blended with FNM, this time with a dash of Stone Temple Pilots. 'Rubber Boots' has a dose of the Mr Bungles in the way that the track quirkily hops between styles before the Bowie-esque 'Hidden Sun' fuses Red Hot Chilli Pepper funk. And so, the FNM/AiC/STP worship continues. But this isn't a bad album. Mixing metal, prog-rock, a bit of jazz-via-the-90s, and alternative, Last Barons offer an interesting sound that though blatantly derivative is still a very good and often quirky album. And it does beg repeat plays. There's plenty of catchy hooks and melodies in there as well as a bunch of great songs played by a bunch of adept musicians. For Last Barons, the 90s are both a reference point and a yardstick. But imitation has no endurance. More a homage than anything innovative, Cheval De Troie is a collection of well-performed and well-written material that had Last Barons injected more of their own identity, it could have been extraordinary.

Track Listing:

1. Shaman's Warning Song
2. Nomad Soul
3. Rubber Boots
4. Hidden Sun
5. The Violent Kind
6. Going To Varzi
7. From Beyond
8. Sould Grinder
9. Anthik Technik
10. A Last Devotchka
11. Cosmogony And Dimensions Of The Mind
12. End Of The Beauty

Added: January 12th 2013
Reviewer: Jason Guest
Score:
Related Link: Last Barons - website
Hits: 1988
Language: english

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