Bigfoot are no strangers to myself, having caught them a couple of times earlier this year, headlining the Hard Rock Café with Anchor Lane supporting and then themselves taking up the support slot with Black Spiders. Both times I saw an objectively good band; it just didn’t click for me. I stayed to the end of their headline slot and watched the entirety of their support slot. I figured in the second instance, it would be giving them a second chance to see if I liked them any better. I didn’t but at the same time, I couldn’t fault their performances.
Normally in these instances, I would ignore an album from a band. But there was something about it when it landed in the inbox which made me reach for the “play” button. Thankfully, I’m glad I did as their self-titled debut album is an impressive one. Less in-your-face than label-mates RavenEye, Bigfoot are offering eleven meaty tracks to the altar of classic rock. It’s a lesson to their contemporaries on how it should be done.
Citing influences such as The Eagles and Pantera, you might not hear them in the music but they have a knack for a hook like the former and groove pulled straight from the Texans’ playbook. What you’re more likely to hear is early Whitesnake and Deep Purple. As soon as “Karma” kicks into life, you just know this band means business. So, the rousing opener is present. Then there’s the big ballad in the form of “Forever Alone” halfway through proceedings and closes with the epic “Yours”. It’s a song which sprawls, growing in stature from humble beginnings into a mighty beast which needs tamed.
Meanwhile “Tell Me a Lie” and “Freak Show” rank as the album’s best tracks with their snarling riffs, gritty and fierce. Between the pair of them, they’re the perfect representation of the band. Then there’s “I Dare You” with “Paradise City”-like drums before it segues into the subdued guitars with its anthemic chorus and veering into a funk, almost reggae, breakdown before doubling down on the hook.
Vocally, Anthony Ellis is a hard one to place. Not quite the baritone you’d expect but there’s power and melody, the closest comparison you’d be able to make is Bat Out of Hell-era Meat Loaf. However, it’s the standard crunching guitars from Sam Millar and Mick McCullagh where they shine brightest. Whilst not offering anything new, they combine together superbly and do it better than most. Moreover, Matt Avery on bass and drummer Tom Aspinall lock in to create a solid rhythm section and it’s here where you’re likely to hear the Pantera influence with their massive grooves.
Gritty, classic and modern. Bigfoot have made a truly solid album, one which becomes better with every listen. It’s one which you’re meant to as you’ll hear new things with every listen. It’s how a modern band should be approaching a classic sound: with reverence. I still can’t figure out why I chose to give it a listen but I’m glad I did.
Bigfoot is released on 13th October on [amazon text=CD&asin=B0742W8VH3], [amazon text=digital download&asin=B073PHVS64] and [amazon text=vinyl&asin=B0742VVC9S].
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