Birch Hill Dam – Birch Hill Dam

BIRCH HILL DAM
BIRCH HILL DAM
Released 2008 (Birch Hill Dam)

Track List:
01. Bed Of Nails
02. Seeding
03. Gasoline Fiend
04. Boozehound
05. Kilimanjaro
06. Thunderbuns Malone
07. Ghosts Of Quabbin
08. Soul Giver
09. Green Machine
10. Searching For Mercy
11. Dark River

Band:
Mike – vocals
Sam – guitar
Jeff – guitar
Joe – bass
Matt – drums

Production:
Engineered, mixed and mastered by Pete Rutcho.

Review:
This sled-titled debut album from Birch Hill Dam is an interesting piece of metal. The first song, “Bed of Nails”, is a throwback to metal of the early ’90s but with a 21st century twist.

  Not everything on the record however is a winner, “Seeding” doesn’t really go anywhere and sounds like an Alter Bridge outtake. “Gasoline Fiend” is an interesting song with pounding drums, thrashing guitars and good, strong vocals.

  One of the best songs on the record, “Boozehound”, is loud and heavy with the right amount of attitude in the vocals. Unfortunately, not every song reaches the same level, as “Kilimanjaro” falls flat on its face while “Thunderous Malone” struggles to reach a level of comfort, but never quite gets there.

  “Soul Giver” sounds a bit like latter-day Corrosion Of Conformity, which is incredibly interesting as one would not expect to find that sort of influence in a band like Birch Hill Dam. The biggest standout on the record is “Green Machine,” originally a Kyuss track, which finds the band in the right groove and it’s something they don’t want to let go of.

  Ultimately, this is a band that’s trying many different things and succeeds at most of them; one of the coolest metal records of last year.

  www.myspace.com/birchhilldam

Reviewed by Pete Crigler for Sleaze Roxx, June 2009.

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