Solace--13
MeteorCity 2003
For fans of all things heavy and groove-filled, it has been an excruciating wait on the follow-up to Solace's debut album Further. Mercifully, 2003 kicks off with sweet release for such folks in the form of 13. Album number two proves Solace were worth all the wait and anticipation.
A simple glance at the choice of covers on 13, Pentagram's "Forever My Queen" and Agnostic Front's "With Time," lends a telling insight into the Solace sound. What Solace does would probably be best described as grooved doom with hardcore overtones. There is an obvious Paranoid-era Black Sabbath feel to everything on this album, especially when the vocals are in their normal/relaxed range. In fact, it's probably the doom-leaning tendencies of 13 which save it from slipping into the wasteland of "stoner rock" as the grooves here are very pronounced. The hardcore aspect of the Solace sound comes out when the vocals are screamed. In these moments, the vox puts out a somewhat vintage hardcore feel, never getting extreme enough to push things into the sludge realm. Solace expands their sound even further in spots to incorporate a slightly Southern Rock vibe, thanks to the use of harmonica and slide guitar. Moments such as these should appeal greatly to fans of bands such as COC or Black Label Society. Through all of the elements of their sound, the one constant is, from front to back, Solace are great on 13.
That being said, the more Solace balances their various influences, the better their songs are. Taking this into account, "Once Around The Sun (Deep Through Time)" and "In The Oven" rise as 13's standout cuts. "Once Around The Sun (Deep Through Time)" starts with possibly the most memorable melodic passage of the whole album and ends with the rawest vocal and music treatment 13 has to offer. "In The Oven" takes a slightly different approach in that it has a strong hardcore base due to the way it's written, with very nice stop/start sections and a choppy time signature shift. Then, during the middle of the song, Solace throw in a breakdown which is a tasteful homage to the mighty Sabbath. Solace make it all magically flow together when there probably isn't another band who could do the same. In the end, it's the guest appearance of Wino (Obsessed, Spirit Caravan) that really steals the show, though. In the song he co-wrote with the band, "Common Cause," our hero hops onboard and lays out a track so Obsessed sounding nobody else could've captained it properly. It was a stroke of genius to have Wino help out on this track and the results speak for themselves.
As with all groove-based bands of worth, Solace benefits from a keen sense of originality. With 13, they've further established themselves not just as a great band but leaders of a genre. The rest of the riffers and groovers definitely have their work cut out for them the rest of this year. Right out of the gate, it feels like Solace have already set 2003's benchmark for this genre with 13.
Score this CD directly from METEORCITY
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