★★★★
Blues-based hard rock has been around since dinosaurs walked the earth, and it’s virtually impossible to break any new ground in this subgenre.
The bands attaining reasonable notoriety in this scene are the ones that inject a little boogie or soul into their sound, and that’s what you get from Melbourne four-piece Massive.
The soulfulness of the Massive sound mainly comes from Brad Marr’s lead vocals. He manages to howl and croon at the same time, and does so very skilfully.
The band behind him hustles along with forward, bluesy momentum. Throw in some serious hard rock swagger, and the whole package comes together rather nicely.
There is some sweet variation across the course of the ten tracks, which is often hard to achieve in this style of music. From the uptempo crunch of ‘Blood Money Blues’ to the darker, broodier groove of ‘The Fall’ (which actually fires up and goes hell for leather at the halfway point before getting moody again), to the swampy, minimalist blues of ‘Beaten Dog’, there are some excellent fluctuations between light and shade.
Best track honours, however, go to the emotional, soulful ‘Made Of Stone’.
Destination SomewherebyMassiveis released independently.
