When I hear the term “Heavy Blues Rock,” my instant reaction is that my back teeth get itchy, and I look for the nearest exit. The general bands in that category take one of two routes. They follow the AC/DC blueprint, which gives us Airbourne- great for warming up a festival crowd by providing something they don’t have to think about too much while delivering albums of clichéd songs that are utterly forgettable. The second route is the Free/Bad Company route, which begets Thunder. In other words, they are perfectly nice but just as forgettable. I'm sure these types of bands (especially Thunder) have hardcore fans but let us be realistic here; Personal Preference or not, they are all bark and no bite, lacking the fiery playing of Young/Kossoff/Ralphs and the roguish vocals of Bon/Rogers
Considering my blasphemous opinion on Heavy Blues Rock, I approached Paralyzed’s new album with caution. Why approach at all, you may ask? Full disclosure, I had heard the previous album and enjoyed it, also anything on Ripple music is worth at the very least lending an ear to.
The less traveled path Paralyzed takes to map their version of Heavy Blues Rock, has more in common with the West Coast Americana of the 1960s than the pub rock most of the bands of this ilk play. This, from a band from Germany, is quite surprising. They list their influence as Sabbath, Zeppelin, Canned Heat, Steppenwolf, and the Doors.
I hear absolutely zero Sabbath in their music, which is refreshing. The thing I hear the most is the Doors. Imagine if Jim Morrison had lived and joined a band like Humble Pie, and you're in the right ballpark. Michael Binder's vocal mannerisms and tone are very reminiscent of Morrison, and they sound like an existentialist howl into the void. The Doors' influence is most to the fore on “Rosies Town” which sounds like a lost song or outtake from the Morrison Hotel sessions. Here, Caterina Böhner’s organ practically screams Ray Manzarek before Binder’s fiery guitar pulls it back from total photocopying of the sound. Paralyzed are nothing if not honest. Asking the listener on the next track, “Heavy Blues” what the definition of this type of music is? A mid-album intermission, “The Myth of Love” has sparse vocals and lovely Spanish guitar. It's brief 2.44 time means it does not outstay its welcome or disrupt the flow of the album. The standout track for me is “The Witch”. It layers more and more sound on top of a pulsating organ line to a mid-song, very ’60s guitar solo. It never feels anything less than authentic.
No one is pushing the envelope on blues rock here. For any band with a retro sound, the thin line between clearly exhibiting your influences and forging your personality can go either way. It can lead to a band scuttling on the rocks of pastiche or navigating into more intriguing water where the influences serve as the compass rather than the destination. Paralyzed accomplishes the secondary option with “Rumble and Roar” through old-fashioned songwriting skill, melodic, musical back-and-forth, the riffs have enough dirt to propel all these songs along, and the bass and drums are right in the pocket, the interplay between the instruments builds each song, to an exhilarating summit, all without feeling convoluted. This, combined with the vocals that drip drama, gives it enough panache to make it a very enjoyable listening experience. I would wager their live show would elevate these songs up to a higher vibration where they will truly come alive.
I began this review by saying that I generally disregard Heavy Blues Rock out of hand. The songs are forgettable, the bands lack anything resembling charisma, and I quickly lose interest. It's pleasantly satisfying to be proven wrong on all counts by Paralyzed.
-Bobo Coen
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