Black Tide

‘Light From Above’ is the début album from the American thrash metal band that is Black Tide. Black Tide is a band that sounds like your stereotypical 80s heavy metal/thrash metal band; nothing new at all is presented in the music here, and everything that is done was put to record far better than this over 20 years ago. As an album of 2008 ‘Light From Above’ is not exactly a great album; a couple of decades back I’m sure the bands sound would have gone down a treat, with so many bands having created this style of sound over the years however there’s just nothing new for Black Tide to offer as a band. Twelve tracks are present here; eleven originals and one cover of the Metallica track ‘Hit The Lights’. The album has a run time of 49 minutes, and if you have a strong love for 80s heavy metal then you may well like what you hear here; the album offers nothing new, the music is however fairly well done at times.

There are some strong guitar solos utilised throughout the album, one particularly impressive one being included in the track ‘Warriors of Time’. The instrumental sound provided by Black Tide here is certainly nothing new, there are however some really rather talented musicians in the band and although the guitar work is incredibly unoriginal; it’s often of quite a high calibre nonetheless. The drumbeats are excellent also and at times lead vocalist Gabriel Garcia really does belt out his vocal lines; not always however and there are certain tracks here when there is a serious lack of passion in the vocal performance. This is not the most exciting heavy metal album ever; it’s okay at times, very 80s in sound however and everything done here has already been put to record in far superior fashion in the past.

I’ve never been a massive Metallica fan, I do however quite like the cover the band has here done of ‘Hit The Lights’. Instrumentally the track is excellent, vocally however there’s that horrible lack of passion which is often present throughout the album. Vocalist Gabriel Garcia just sounds a bit bored, he certainly doesn’t seem to be feeling the music too much; he sounds like a man that has been reluctantly pushed into putting to record a Metallica cover by his band mates/record label and has only agreed due to contractual obligations. The guitar work is powerful here, throughout this entire album the guitar work is in fact excellent and this is one area in which I just can’t find fault with the music of Black Tide. Lead guitarist Alex Nunez isn’t exactly the most creative of guitarists; he regurgitates and recycles guitar riffs from years gone by, he does it well however and always makes excellent use of the fretboard.

‘Black Widow’ is the final track on this album and is I feel the best of the bands own original tracks. It’s included as a ‘UK Bonus Track’; quite a bonus really as had it not been included then the highlight of this album would probably have to be seen as the Metallica cover track. There’s some great guitar work here, a real display of guitar playing excellence, and for the first time on the album the band sounds to be having a lot of fun. A little more creative inspiration is displayed here than ever before on the album; the band is doing its own thing and not just sticking to an 80s heavy metal formula which should have been left well and truly in the past.

Black Tide’s ‘Light From Above’ will never be seen as the best heavy metal album of the year 2008; the bands sound is too stylistically similar to many bands that have gone before, and although instrumentally the music is fairly fun to listen to, it’s still nothing new. The vocal performance lacks passion at times, and with so many of the guitar riffs having been stolen from past artists it’s really very hard to praise guitarist Alex Nunez despite his excellent ability. Alex Nunez has a fantastic style, it’s not his own style however and no matter how well he works the fretboard; the instrumental sound created here is very 80s and not in the least bit original. This is not a complete failure of an album; it’s interesting enough to listen to at times, no heavy metal classic however and not one I can see myself remembering in any great detail in years to come.

For those that are new to the genre of heavy metal then this album may well sound like something quite exciting and original; it’s not though and although it’s not a bad album, too many artists sounds have been ripped off here in order to create a supremely unoriginal and generic heavy metal sound. Instrumentally you may well gain much musical enjoyment from listening to this album, none more so than you will from listening to many other heavy metal albums of this sort however and if you’re after something a little bit original, exciting and out there in the genre of heavy metal then Black Tide is not the band to provide that sound (at least not with this début album, perhaps for album number two the band shall return with something a little more original and creatively innovative; only time shall tell).

Label: Interscope
Release Date: March 18th 2008

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