Review - Albatross Overdrive - Albatross Overdrive

 

As also seen on The Soda Shop
Once again I have to thank Chybucca Sounds for turning me onto these guys. Plain and simple, these guys fucking rock! This is one of two that would've made my top 20 list had I not discovered them after I made my list. Make no mistake about it, it would've scored pretty high. Albatross Overdrive is a 4 piece from Huntington Beach, California. Words simply cannot describe how kick ass of an album this is. Albatross Overdrive play some fine, loud, in your face, steel toe boot in your ass rock and roll. It's rooted deeply in hard rock with plenty of blues rock and a little metal sprinkled throughout. If you're familiar with Ride the Sun, Grifter or Lo-Pan, that's a close representation of who they sound like.

Their self titled album, also their debut, starts off heavy and doesn't let up until it's over. Catch your breath before you start it up, there's no rest in between songs or no fluffy calm down for a song in between. The album is 52 minutes long and while with most albums that can be to much, 52 minutes is simply not long enough in this case.


There's a few big hitters like the opening track "Big Bear", "Bad Mama Jama" and "Mammoth". Arguably the best tracks on the disc. It's not to discredit the other tracks like "Ghost Ride", "Cry Freedom", "Coal Fire Woman" or "Tijuana Train Wreck". Hell, "Calico" is such a cool song it's on there twice. The first time in it's final form as the 6th track and the second in demo form as the closing track. This is simply put, an all killer no filler album.

Be warned when driving on short trips and listening to this album, you won't want to get out of your car until it's over. Good luck explaining to the wife why it took over and hour to go 2 blocks for milk. You can hear for yourself at the band's Myspace page. Once you've listened for a bit and are convinced this is a must have, head on over to their website and order your copy, you will not be disappointed.

Now here's a little homework for readers of Heavy Planet. Don't worry, it'll only take a minute or two. After you've listened to a few tracks, come back and leave some comments and let us know what you think.