Review: The Decoy – Avalon

The Decoy - AvalonSomething a little lighter for the middle of the week with South Wales 3-piece, The Decoy. Definitely a group on the rise, their debut LP Avalon is out in a couple of days and the band have already been invited to play at the YNot Festival.

They’re being likened to Biffy Clyro, Reuben, Incubus – that sort of ilk, with an added twist of… well, of their own, I guess. Album opener “Black Mountain Radio” is a strange number, very disjointed and sounding like someone switching around between radio stations, though I think this is deliberate. Take it as a kind of overture of the many styles offered by the band.

Recent single “Cold” is next up and its melodic yet technical riffage really shows what the band are capable of – the video is below for those who’ve not caught it before. Warning: it contains scenes of brutal vegetable abuse. While “Cold” shows the band’s heavier aspects in places, “Elizabeth” demonstrates more heavily their lighter and more catchy side with some lovely airy riffs buried in there.

“Crazy Nights” and “Habit” are much faster-paced, the latter with some guest vocals though I confess I’m not sure who from! “Crazy Nights” is my favourite on the album with its driving pre-chorus whereas “Habit” is more of a crusher.

The band go full acoustic for “A Meze”, which is an unusual (and unique, on the album) track on the album as a result. Like a ballad on the metal album, though, it does work. There’s no harm in trying something different and The Decoy have pulled it off with this lilting number.

Every album should go out with a bang, Avalon kind of opts for anger and chopping motions instead. “Live By The Axe” is probably the angriest track on the album and ends proceedings leaving the listener feeling pretty bloody exhausted. This one will make the band and the audience sweat if they play it live.

Avalon is definitely an album to check out if the choppy nature of tech metal is to your taste, tempered with some melodic undertones.

The Decoy: facebook

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments