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Answer, The: Raise a Little Hell

Irish hard rockers The Answer have long been touted as 'the next big thing', so here we are in 2015 and they've yet to really break out into the mainstream, but their new album for Napalm Records, Raise a Little Hell certainly contains plenty of elements that would suggest that the bands time might be right around the corner. With a formula that draws heavily from classic '70s & '80s hard rock, The Answer have injected Raise a Little Hell with plenty attitude and swagger, resulting in a fun album that provides for many fist pumping and air guitar moments.

Bon Scott era AC/DC meets classic Thin Lizzy come to mind on the raucous "Aristocrat", while you can hear a little Lynyrd Skynyrd, Nazareth, as well as mid '80s Bon Jovi on the bluesy "Cigarettes & Regret". The grinding, bluesy, and quite heavy "Last Days of Summer" features some great guitar riffs and booming bass to go along with Cormac Neeson's gravelly vocals (do I detect some Tesla here?), and " I Am What I Am" as well as "Long Live the Renegades" are simple, foot stompin' hard rock numbers, complete with anthemic vocals and tight, compact guitar work. Paul Mahon unleashes some terrific riffs on the upbeat "Whiplash", and he lays down plenty of molten blues on the darker "Red", which brings to mind UFO, Nazareth, ZZ Top, and Tesla, not a bad bunch to grab influences from. The closing title track offers up doom laden riffing for some of the albums heaviest moments, while "Strange Kinda' Nothing", "The Other Side", and "Gone Too Long" are the prerequisite ballads in the bunch.

Raise a Little Hell contains a few really terrific songs that really have the potential to grab a larger audience, but overall it's a very solid album of classic sounding hard rock that in any other era would have 'potential smash hit' written all over it. Check it out.


Track Listing

  1. Long Live the Renegades
  2. The Other Side
  3. Aristocrat
  4. Cigarettes & Regret
  5. Last Days Of Summer
  6. Strange Kinda' Nothing
  7. I Am What I Am
  8. Whiplash
  9. Gone Too Long
  10. Red
  11. I Am Cured
  12. Raise A Little Hell

Added: February 15th 2015
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 2283
Language: english

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Answer, The: Raise a Little Hell
Posted by Simon Bray, SoT Staff Writer on 2015-02-18 07:27:55
My Score:

I seem to recall spending much of my review of The Answer's last album New Horizon suggesting that The Answer were a much better band than media darlings Rival Sons (still one of the most tedious live acts it has ever been my misfortune to encounter) and Raise a Little Hell merely confirms my prejudices. Groove-based 70's style rock has been somewhat of a cause celebre in recent years with the success of the aforementioned Rival Sons and curiously with Europe's transformation into an entirely different band but the Answer stand tall alongside anybody currently plying their trade within the genre.

As noted above Raise a Little Hell contains some top notch foot stompin' winners such as the opener "Long Live the Renegades" which is just excellent yet even when they decide to let the groove and small-time jam sequences off the leash as on "Last Days Of Summer" they still keep focussed and well away from self-indulgence. Do you want a laid back, acoustic side of the band? Look no further than the wonderful "Strange Kinda' Nothing".

The cover is great, the band's hair is great, the beards are immaculate – you owe it to yourself to go and Raise a Little Hell.



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