Long Day Fear  - Bones

There’s no doubting what you’ve let yourself in for right from the opening salvo of ‘Head Down’ - a kick-ass downtuned riff and squeal fest from Hades that sets the tone for the majority of Long Day Fear’s debut album ‘Bones’.

Right from the off the self proclaimed influences are clear – Down and Clutch fans will be mightily impressed, as LDF marry the raw grime of Down with the groove of Clutch, while applying a Corrosion of Conformity style riff approach.  And boy does it work - with knobs on.

Second track ‘First Born Son’ takes things to new level.  A rock-solid riff, perfectly fitting vocals and a short but effective solo.  The production quality starts to shine through and fits the style like a glove – deep growling but well defined guitar and bass, plus outspoken frontman Richie Tyler-Woolgrove’s vocal hits the sweetspot.  Not that anything LDF do can be described as sweet…

And just when you think you’ve got the measure of Long Day Fear, they tear your face off with a motherf****r of a song which was surely conceived by demons at the crossroads, then taken for a midnight dunk in the Mississippi before being used to clear ‘gators from the swamps of Louisiana.

‘S.O.B’ is possibly a band defining song – their ‘Cowboys from Hell’ if you like.

Driven by a bloodcurdling riff that is simply world-class, Tyler-Woolgrove’s vocals reach a new level of angry.  Drummer John Willis then takes ‘S.O.B’ screaming into a new dimension, before the song climaxes with the ‘dirty son of a bitch’ refrain just enough times before a gorgeously executed finish leaves you wanting to replay it over and over, just to scream the lyrics again and again.  On 11.

The only track to let the album down a little is ‘Legacy in Stone’. It’s not a bad song by any means – if you’ve never heard any Stone Temple Pilots or VR, then this is a great track.  Otherwise, it’s a Rock Sugar style mash of ‘Piece of Pie’ from STPs ‘Core’ album and ‘Slither’ from VRs debut Contraband.  Even down to the lyrics in the case of ‘Piece of Pie’.  Quite how when writing the song no-one in the band thought it’s just a bit too close I’ll never know.  And to add the vocal effect used by Scott Weiland – it just makes the comparison even easier.

Thank f**k then that the next track, ‘Don’t Watch the Rain’ – although clearly inspired by Black Stone Cherry and Black Label Society - stands very much on it’s own two feet (hooves?) and rivals ‘S.O.B’ as a stand-out track, destined perhaps as a single.

In fact the solo section of ‘Don’t Watch’ is as good as BSC if not better –with a bit more attitude and grunt than their US counterparts.  A stunning piece of work - if they can pull it off live it will blow punters away.

Title track ‘Bones’ is simple, down’n’dirty head banging stuff.  The lyrics are mint – I just love the line ‘Hey you, I saw ya coming out the corner of my eye’ – so much fun to sing while eyeballing that tosser BMW driver who just cut you up!!

‘Cold’ has you worried for a few seconds that LDF have a classical side.  Don’t be soft – just as you reach for your beer the now familiar chug chug squeal kicks you in the teeth and its business as usual with another top notch riff and vocal to blow your head off.

Penultimate track ‘Johnny Cash’ is something of an acquired taste.  If you’ve had a few JDs and fancy five minutes to reflect on life, the universe and everything, then this accomplished Down style chillout is for you.  If not, save it for when you’re in the mood and keep the momentum going with the ‘next’ button…

Final track ‘Cured’ is an Alice in Chains / STP riff on steroids, but with a curiously familiar vocal line … I’ll leave that 80’s easter egg for you to discover!  Just to say, amazingly it works.

‘Bones’ is one hell of a debut album.  Barring ‘Piece of Pie’ and ‘Johnny Cash’ I can listen to this over and over again – in fact it’s probably one of my top two albums so far of 2011.  On this first full length outing, you can see Long Day Fear making strides into the Down / Clutch fanbase. 

All of which makes it harder to believe where LDF see as home. Texas? Nah.  Carolina maybe? Nah. Surely some southern US state?

Nope.  Fortunately for LDF fans, there ain’t too many ‘gators in Nottingham, England.  Unless that’s one I can see in the corner of my eye…

Long Day Fear's Debut album Bones is released on October 1st 2011, and will be available on iTunes, Amazon and direct from www.kerosenerocks.com.

(C) Toby Winch for Rockpulse Rock Magazine 2011

Images courtesy of Long Day Fear