Mason Hill – Against The Wall
Release Date: 5th March 2021
Label: 7Hz Productions
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Genre: Hard Rock
FFO: Gun, Black Stone Cherry, Foo Fighters.
Review By: Kenny Newall
Glasgow’s Mason Hill have an intriguing back story involving band members giving up a promising swimming career and a degree course to focus on the band as well as having to come up with and market a debut under a covid lockdown. Debut full-length that is, as their debut EP came out in 2015! Since then they have toured extensively and crafted a sound that is fairly polished hard-pop-rock.
My first listen was thank God I like this as they’re Scottish, but further ear twanglings have deflated me somewhat. I like their sound, they have some great riffs and a couple of decent melodies, but not much else to get my boat floating. They sound a bit like Gun without the swagger and I’d like to hear a bit more rasp in the vocals to underline the anger which wanders in from time to time. They might hate me saying it, but a bit more My Own Prison Creed would work. (Vocalist Scott Taylor does have a bit of a Scott Stapp look going on).
The only songs that really dinged my dong are Broken Son (video below), Hold On and Find My Way, though DNA and No Regret have the best riffs. The slower songs are not to my liking at all, though closer Where I Belong features the best lead work on the album. Part of the overall failing for me is the rhythm section which is a bit bland and tends to follow the guitar riffs a bit too much. (I’m trying desperately not to say shite). However, there’s enough here to make me hope this is their Bleach (I love Nirvana, but I’m not a Bleach fan. Nevermind).
In saying all that, I seem to be in a bit of a minority here. The album is already released and doing well in the charts and review sections, but this review is for me to give my opinion, not be influenced by others. It’s good to see a young Scottish band doing well, though. Gallus even.
Talking of Nirvana, the album artwork does remind me of them, but like Cobain’s Smiley Face image, I think it would work better as a t-shirt than an album cover. Then again, where do you go for Against The Wall when Ramones have nailed it.
(2.5 / 5)
