By Hannah Reid
‘Leeches’ is the debut album from French stoner rockers Greyborn. Hailing from Limoges in the south of France and founded from the ashes of heavy rock unit Mama’s Gun with the addition of Blackbird Hill’s guitarist, the drummer fronted trio delivers a hip swaying, explosive selection of songs to introduce themselves.
Kicking us off is ‘Leeches’, which the band recently released a spooky and dark toned music video to go along with, and kicks off the tone they’ve created for this EP. Everything works well together, the different paces build up throughout the song until near the end we get a fun riff that makes you want to jump around. It’s a very strong start and just from this song, I have high hopes for what is still to come.
‘Bits & Pieces’ is the second track, and this was the first song I heard from the band before reviewing, and it took me a little bit to get into the first time around while listening, but it did grow on me the more I played it. Drummer and vocalist Theo Jude explained that this song’s theme ‘is an anticipation song inspired by the endless progress of science. It raises many ethical questions, for good or ill. In this song, we most specifically think about what makes us human, and wonder if anything (or anyone) is replaceable.’
Third track, ‘Jharia’, has a lot of fun riffs and melodies throughout it. The way the guitar playsaround throughout the track; I found that it was quite a different change of pace that kept you on your toes and wanting to hear more. It complimented the vocals very well and while listening to the drums, you could almost feel your heart beating along in time.
‘After Dark’ is next up and has a slightly slower beat and softer tone than the songs beforehand, before it kicks out some powerful and punchy lyrics. Jude explains that this song ‘is about reaching out to the unknown’, and there is something about the riffs which feel like they transport you somewhere else while listening.
Finally, we have ‘Corrosive Faith’, which starts off with that same kind of supernatural vibe to it before the vocals cut in, sticking to a slower beat like the song previously, before it picks up for the chorus. It sums up the EP very well and has a nice little end for bringing the songs all together that I liked.
It was definitely a hard hitting, fun EP to come out with and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. There wasn’t much of a standout as everything and everyone in this band worked really well together, they made it all flow and work. The tracks seemed to tell their own story as you were listening and getting the messages that the band wanted to get across to the listener. This is a band to follow along with and to look out for in future to see what else they get up to.
- ‘Leeches’ is out today (Friday 18 March). You can get your copy HERE.
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