A Gathering Of None – One Last Grasp At Hope
A Gathering Of None – One Last Grasp At Hope
Independently Released
Release Date: 06/04/2018
Running time: 44:00
Review by Vikkie Richmond
7/10
American hard rockers A Gathering Of None are no strangers to the music scene; having been around since 2012, in this transigent day and age, that could class them as veterans. “One Last Grasp At Hope” is their third release and their second full length effort.
I don’t like to pigeonhole bands, because the music a group of people create is unique and should not be put into a box labelled as one thing or another, however my first listen to this album (and my first listen to them as a band, full stop) had them partly in the ‘alt rock’ category and partly in the hard rock camp. It doesn’t really matter, the important point is whether the album is any good.
I confess I wasn’t set on fire by the first track, the speedy ‘What For’; featuring some nice guitar licks and some nifty percussive highlights, with a time signature change or two, but it did have me tapping my toes and nodding my head, so it can’t be all bad. Next up, ‘No Stone Unturned’ started off with a lick that was worthy of Thin Lizzy and continued with some nice vocal harmonies, despite a ‘vintage’ whiff about it. Tracy Byrd’s vocals don’t do a lot for me, but he does have a fair set of pipes on him.
Out of a total of eleven tracks, I didn’t dislike any of the songs, they were all listenable, with those worthy of further mention being the soaring ‘Break My Stride’ and the slightly dirty ‘Dissolution’.
Special mention goes to ‘You Stagnate’, which was worthy of Alice In Chains, or any other band that arose out of the dark ashes of the hair metal age at the start of the 90’s. In fact, I felt like I was listening to different albums at times, such were the style differences between some of the songs.
I liked this album; I feel that A Gathering Of None are competent musicians and having listened to some of their back catalogue, they are honing their craft as they go, album by album. It’s not an album I would listen to on repeat, but that’s just my choice. Take a listen yourself and make your own mind up; I suspect you’ll like it.
TRACKLISTING:
01. What For
02. No Stone Left Unturned
03. Break My Stride
04. Fabulous Mishap
05. You Stagnate
06. Reaching Out
07. Dissolution
08. Something You Should Know
09. Predatory Male
10. I Hope I’m Wrong
11. Move Along
LINKS:
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