ALBUM REVIEW: A sense of epic surrounding Baleful Creed's second full-length release Seismic Shifter

FROM the first time listening to Baleful Creed, live or recorded there is a clear sense that they know their roots. Steeped in Sabbath, the mists of NOLA rolling around their collective ankles and the understanding that hard rock and metal runs through their veins.

For this, their second full length release they face a challenge to live up to a growing reputation, and what is apparent from the first listen is that the Creed sound remains intact, but with a little smidgeon of maturity and a whole lot more adept song writing and arrangements.

True there are tracks here that are familiar from the live shows, such as 'Forgiven' and 'Memento Mori' but they are given more of a spit and polish on the album.

Since they last entered the Manor Park Studios under Neal Calderwood's production supervision Davy Greer (bass) and Dave Jeffers (drums) have been added to the front line of Fin and John leading the attack. With almost three years playing, rehearsing and recording makes the Baleful Creed sound all the more compelling this time around.

Take for example 'God's Fear' that has a stoner-style riff, but with the right amount of flourishes added to a melody line that snakes into the consciousness, insidiously and wonderfully.

It would have been easy to simply rely on what they have done before but there is a sonic dynamism throughout from Baleful Creed. The atmospheric opener 'Devil's Side' has the right mixture of aural challenge, and the closer 'The Wolf' is perhaps the most accomplished track the band has ever composed or performed.

There are songs here that take the Sabbath trope such as 'Grind', but it is not a slavish attempt to play on audience memories, but rather homage to the band's influences, adding enough local identity to make sure that it is a Baleful Creed song first and foremost.

Equally 'Walking Wounded' has its roots in the swamps of Louisiana, but its melancholic menace comes from the mists around the mean streets of Northern Ireland when the pace picks up.

One song worthy of note is 'Lose Religion' which sees Fin step back from the mic to let Davy take over singing duties (even sticks man Dave puts in a shift away from the  kit to put in a shift on harmonica).

Asides from the confidence to allow a different voice to front a song, this is a track that lyrically hits out at organised religion, and while it is probably one of the more straightforward set of words on the album it does show that Baleful Creed are taking the structure of the songs and the lyrics with more consideration.

What John, Fin, Dave and Davy have done on this release is solidify their sound, allow that sound more breath without compromising the depth, heft and weight  of the songs, lose some of the grunge elements and develop it into a proper stoner/metal sound.

It is as if they have taken a mighty slab of basalt, melded it with steel to produce the substantial musical weight of hard rock and heavy metal. A mass that is a true 'Seismic Shifter'

Review by Jonathan Traynor

Beautiful noise from Baleful Creed.

AFTER releasing three eps Belfast's Baleful Creed have pulled together 10 tracks from those releases to launch a full length album - and what a collection it is.

And the tracks as a collection all make even more sense pulled together as one release with the blend of Sabbath style riffs, southern metal groove and powerful choruses working as one.

Where before the Baleful Creed songs were all excellent - especially live - they sat often in isolation from each other coming as they did from disparate releases.

Now this album is a platform that they can build from to take this four-piece to the next level of success.

Kicking off with the driving self-titled song as a statement of the band's commitment, the following song - Autumn Leaves - is where the soul of the band lies: darkness and light as a contrast and a tale that would be spine-chilling if related as a film.

That contrast lies at the heart of Baleful Creed's unique selling-point: where some other bands across the UK, Europe and the USA sometimes slavishly draw on their influences Creed meld them together like demented musical welders.

Illuminati, the afore-mentioned Autumn Leaves, Misanthrope, Double FS and Thorazine are stand-outs in this overall excellent collection.

It is the combination of musicianship and song-writing that has produced this album. Fin Finlay's vocals, supported by drummer Mark Stewart's singing on Misanthrope and backing vocals are the obvious sound that draw casual listeners; but dig beneath for a little longer and Fin and John Allen's guitars weave an aural soundscape, with Stephen Fleming's bass holding the tenuous grip that prevents it all from drifting apart.

Fin and John's inter-weaving guitars, riffing and superb solos are the outworking of the magic: they provide the atmosphere that make the songs come alive.

Simply called Baleful Creed this is an album that is worth the investment - whether from the four-piece's Bandcamp page -  or better still as a physical album to sit on your racks, where it will take a worthy place.