Album
Type:
Album
Date
Released:
15th
December 2015
Violent
At Altitude – Track Listing
1.Violent At
Altitude 02:34
2.Cool Breeze 02:26
3.Hindsight 02:58
4.Bad 02:28
5.Prisoner 03:02
6.Devil Digger 03:54
7.Drugs 02:45
8.Russian Roulette
01:44
9.Another Life 04:26
10.Bi Polar 02:41
11.Dirty Word 02:01
12.Ten Bears 02:07
13.So Long 03:01
Bio
From the damp
swamplands of Melbourne, Australia, three blokes have crawled out of
the fog to come together as DRIFTER!
Dark, cutting and
insolent, Dan King (vox/guitar), Troy Dawson (Bass), and Dave Payne
(drums) with an uncompromising gentle mayhem and a dangerous smile,
have eaten the fruit of the ages and spat out a sound that will put
some fuzz on your muff and make you long for the touch of
flannelette. These fine young lads are ready to unleash a new blend
of punk, rock and partying!!!
Drifter’s live
shows have been described on and off stage as loud, on edge, and
tight with a loose undertone, leaving the audience unsure of what is
to come next. This rawness has seen them increase their local
following and gain reputation as a must see local act.
The lazy-underground
transient three's debut EP HEAD consists of 5 tracks, it’s short,
loud and soaked in wailing feedback and distortion. Stay tuned for
the release of their debut album in 2014 !!
Members
Dan King-
guitar/vocals,
Troy Dawson -
bass/vocals,
Dave Payne -
drums/vocals
Review:
Drifter's
style of Stoner Rock owes a lot to Punk Rock and classic Hard Rock as
the bands sound has a distinctive hard-hitting energy that is very
hard to ignore. Their debut album may not sound the most original of
sounds but it's a highly addictive ride where the music speaks for
itself.
Opening
tracks – Violent At Altitude and Cool Breeze – sees Drifter
unleashing classic Aussie High Voltage Rock which that country is
well known for. The Punk Rock vocals adds a nice violent twist which
has a moshpit sensibility where you just let yourself go. Holding
this altogether is slabs of heavy Stoner Rock riffs which Drifter
have a great passion for. It's played at a fast pace where the music
makes you feel so alive. The production is very punk rock as it's
lo-fi at times but it sill sounds loud and angry through out.
Drifter
venture into heavier riffs during the course of the album as they
flex their musical vision for everyone to see. The band have managed
to capture the raw and violent energy of 70s Punk Rock and give it a
21st Century Stoner Rock makeover. The lyrics maybe a
little bit sloppy at times but they still grab you by the throat to
give you a good musical kicking. The thing that I dig the most is the
vocals. Drifter may not have the most polished of vocals but they're
really passionate and they keep you entertained through out the
album. It's quite brave for Drifter to have 3 vocalists in the band
as some bands struggle to keep the momentum going but Drifter have no
complaints from me on that level.
It's
cool that most of the songs only last 3 to 4 mins each as Drifter
pack a lot of great ideas within their songs. Anything longer and
boredom may start to creep in. Drifter don't waste time in playing
heavy music as they unleash a barrage of unstoppable riffs. One of
the standout tracks has to be – Devil Digger - A progressive
Stoner Metal/Punk Rock odyssey with hints of Mastodon showing up.
This song shows you what Drifter are capable of when they put their
minds to it. Though most of the album stays in the realm of Punk
Rock/Stoner Rock territory.
Violent
At Altitude is a great album to showcase Drifter's talent. Though I
would love to see Drifter venture more into the progressive rock
sounds of Devil Digger for future releases. Other than that, this
album is an excellent album to check out.
Thanks
to Anthony at Desert Highways for the promo. The album is available
to buy on CD/DD via BandCamp now.
Words
by Steve Howe
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