Brian Fair is a beast on vocals and Derek Kerswill is a godsend behind the drumkit. Don’t believe me? Then just press “play” on “Astral Projection” off of Downpour’s long-in-development metal masterpiece of a debut which is finally seeng the light of day this September and tell me I’m wrong.
Forget the bands these guys used to be in, Downpour is truly incomparable and one listen through their self-titled album will seemless-ly wipe away all the dam unearth-ly shadows of former outfits.
“The Serpent’s Tongue” rolls off like a Slayer track of yore (Think South Of Heaven-style slower jams) and is, honestly, the track that sounds the least like “Downpour” on here. So! If you really wanna get to the meat and potatoes of this beast then dive right into “Truth In Suffering”. On this one, Fair really goes for it with these grandiose Metallica-sized choruses as Kerswill savagely beats the skins with Pete Gelles providing a solid hum from his bass and Matt LeBreton’s guitars churning out riff after heavenly riff.
Then there’s the mystical majesty of “…Still Waiting” propelled by Kerwill’s erstwhile thumping and Fair’s clean delivery amidst a backdrop of synths while “Beautiful Nothing” is another epic slab of Fair awesome. Did we mention epic already? Cuz it is! At almost seven and a half minutes, the track represents a maturity and developed songwriting power yet still brims with all the heaviness that you’d come to expect from a collected group of artists such as this.
“Without The Fear” is an anthem in the making with these broad passages sucking listeners in before Fair’s roar opens up the sky then the aptly titled “Mountain” concludes the opus in an appropriately grand fashion, soaring to the heavens like the peak of the song title.
You can pre-order Downpour’s debut via Pledgemusic now by clicking here. For more on Downpour, head here.