By John Bedard
While I know Final Coil have previous albums, this is the first time I am getting around to listening to them. No matter what it was going to be a surprise the only question was if the surprise was going to be a good one or not. The EP opens up with the only studio recorded track, which I believe was also on their last album, followed by three live recordings. I will admit I have never understood releasing a track you have already released again without making any significant changes to it such as a remaster or live or acoustic version. While I really enjoyed the track ‘Convicted Of The Right’, if I already had the previous album I would be disappointed that it was not something new. Especially because the following live sessions are great and a live session of ‘Convicted Of The Right’ would have been great!
Musically the whole EP has this very old school and very sombre tone to it with some slightly ambient tones mixed in sparsely throughout the tracks. Ambient is probably the wrong word but I am at a lot for what would I want to use to best describe it. While having this grounded root in a tone that you would recognize in a lot of old-school rock and metal and even grunge there is something about the sound that is just standout unique. I would also be doing a disservice if I did not mention how well recorded and mixed the live sessions are. Usually, I feel live sessions tend to not live up to expectations because one thing or another won’t be quite right. Like an instrument being lost in the mix or a member of the band not totally being on their game that day but I get none of that here. It is very well done.
Really my only complaint is the re-release of a track I would have preferred to hear in the same live session treatment that the other tracks got but other than that this is a very enjoyable EP that would be hard not to like. I definitely think it is worth a pickup and was very much a good surprise.
- ‘Convicted Of The Right’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.