130R - S/T Review

The first thing that comes to mind is what 130R stands for. I guess everyone would as this name is quite unusual even for Metal music standards and there is no information about the name in the press release. So, I got curious and took a look at the modern oracle – Google, right? First hit I got was about a famous Suzuka corner that is called 130R. Well, it fits. The other hit was a helmet witht the same name. Hmm, helmet? I guess it doesn’t fit at all though the helmet is really cool. Also, there is a resistor called 130R, but my guess is it doesn’t fit at all. Then, I’ll take the Suzuka corner which is the one that fits better by the album cover and the music herein. The info I got from it is the following:

Suzuka’s 130R, so named because of its metric radius, is a left-hander that follows a long drag from the Spoon Curve and is approached at close to 320 km/h in eighth gear. In its heyday in the 80s and 90s it was a very fast and bumpy test of a driver’s mettle, the scene of some very committed and dramatic overtaking, and regularly bit the unwary. Following Allan McNish’s hefty accident in 2002, it was modified with a tarmac run-off area and like Eau Rouge is now generally taken flat in today’s high-downforce F1 cars, though absolute precision is still as essential as a heavy right foot.

Musicwise, “130R” sounds a combination of Old School Heavy Metal with loud and clear guitars with vocals that sometimes sound like The Black Crowes. A track as “One More Day” shows exactly this. However, the guitars of following track “Another Way” tell otherwise. They are much more heavier than anything The Black Crowes have done in their life. It’s from album opening track “All You See” that I got an early Rush feeling, but the guitars of “Barricades” prove me right about the heavyness of the album. There is some Dokken golden era in it. I guess the band agree with this Dokken influence.

Again, – I swear I won’t make it a habit – I don’t concur with the press release about the band’s labelling. I don’t agree about the Melodic Hard Rock more notably when it comes to the instrumentals. A track as “Another Way” has instrumentals that are much heavier than Melodic Hard Rock. All the album tells me otherwise even a ballad as “Season of Denial” which, by the way, has very cool acoustic guitars. The impression I got from listening the album is that 130R decided to have an album with lots of 1970’s Rock and Soul with Metal guitars. Vocals from “Season of Denial” show me that.

Finally, I’d say “130R” is a great crossover that will be appreciated by Heavy Rock and Metal fans.

130R “130R” will be released on August 04th.

Track Listing: