By Monk
Whiteabbey is a small, nondescript and unremarkable little village on the northern outskirts of Belfast, dominated by a sprawling housing estate built for soldiers returning from the Second World War. No more than a passing thought to many of those who circumvent it on their journeys between the city centre and its commuter belt. But, there is nothing small, nondescript or unremarkable about this power metal project which takes its name from this former hamlet… in fact, nothing could be further from the truth, as I will now elaborate.
The band is the brainchild of guitarist Steve Moore, who may perhaps be known to ÜR’s power metal fans as guitarist with Stormzone, with whom he has been involved for the best part of the last two decades. When the world practically ground to a halt in early 2020, Moore did the same as many other musicians, and set out to find out new outlets for his creative juices to flow into. This led to him teaming up with Dutch singer Tamara Bouwhuis for what initially was supposed to be a side-project to help while away the boredom of lockdown: however, two albums (both initially released as triptychs of three songs) and an EP based on the story of Snow White later, it has become more of an all-encompassing concept.
‘Words…’ contains all the expected PM tropes, which will delight all fans of the genre: big hooks, searing solos, soaring vocals, massive melodies and catchy choruses, combined with plenty of studio-induced atmospherics in terms of programmed orchestrations. Now, this latter comment is in no way to detract from the offering: far from it, as this album exudes passion and commitment, with the technology used to make up for the restrictions of being self-recorded, with no budget, and the musicians being in two separate countries. It is a compulsive listen which has been heavy repeat at ÜRHQ over the weeks since it was sent our way.
As this third album emphasizes. Whiteabbey has truly become a full-blown, breathing, living reality (sic) in its own right, especially with the addition of Moore’s long-term friend, musical sparring partner and Stormzone bandmate Graham McNulty as a full-time component of the machine. It probably would be a pastiche to say that this is probably the best album Stormzone never recorded, but that would be to do it a massive injustice, so I will retract that and say that Moore has, perhaps, finally found the words to form the key to his own artistic vision.
- ‘Words That Form The Key‘ is released today (Friday 23 February).
- Whiteabbey make their live debut at the Diamond Rock Club, Ahoghill, on Saturday 18 May.
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