By Jim Rowland
Following in the fine tradition of Aussie rock gods like AC/DC, Rose Tattoo and The Angels, Sydney’s Avalanche are about to hit these shores as support to more Aussie rock royalty, namely Airbourne. To coincide with that, Avalanche release their highly anticipated and aptly titled debut full-length album ‘Armed to the Teeth’ (regular readers may remember a mini-album being #SentFromHell back in 2019). Expect some very high voltage rock ’n’ roll (sic).
Led by power couple Steven and Veronica Campbell, Avalanche have gone down a storm across Australia, Japan, Taiwan and New Caledonia, sharing the stage with the likes of Nashville Pussy, Buckcherry, Fozzy and Rose Tattoo. Based on the incriminating evidence of this debut album, they’ll go down a storm over here too, and certainly keep Airbourne on their toes.
From start to finish, ‘Armed to the Teeth’ oozes the kind of high-octane, loud, proud, gritty, no-frills raw rock’n’roll that the Aussies have always done so well over the decades. There’s not much in the way of variety here, other than fast or faster, but every track hits you square in the face like an iron girder.
The superb ‘On The Bags Again’ kicks the album off in explosive fashion, its full-throttle, wild, gritty raw and raucous rock’n’roll channelling the spirit of prime pummelling Rose Tattoo, with ‘Going For Broke’, ‘The Hand That Feeds’ and ‘Blondie’ following similar lines.
The album’s title track has already been hailed by Airbourne’s Joel O’Keeffe as the best rock n’ roll song he’s heard in a long time, and indeed with its ‘Thunderstruck’ styled opening and huge anthemic chorus, the influence of AC/DC and Airbourne is plain to see. The likes of ‘Ride or Die’, ‘Open To Retaliation’ and ‘Kick Your Heels Back’ further display the influence of Bon-era AC/DC.
‘Armed to the Teeth’ is a furious, fun and red-hot rocking album. Avalanche are certainly not re-inventing the wheel, but carrying on the tradition of full-throttle, raw and raucous Aussie hard rock’n’roll in top-notch fashion.
If you like your rock’n’roll in the fine tradition of AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, The Angels and Airbourne, or European counterparts like Krokus and Bullet, this is one album to check out for sure.
- ‘Armed To The Teeth’ will be released on Friday (13 February).
