The opening few bars of ‘One Four One’ reminded me of Bon Jovi. ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’ or some such song. Of course when the vocals kick in, about 10 seconds in, the Bon Jovi memory is ruined. But it’s the kind of moment that makes Attack! Vipers! debut album stand out. I’ve read some awesome reviews of this record, so before I;d even listened to it I expected big things. And while it is good, I don’t think it’s that good, perhaps a record which has become the victim of it’s own messageboard hype. Unwittingly I would imagine.
In places this album slays. ‘D-Rail me’ is a fucking monster of a tune, ripping every senew of energy the band could muster and laying it out flat for everyone to hear. This is one passionate beast of an album, full of blood, sweat and tears. Shedding all of the melodies Jets Vs Sharks had and whipping the guitars and bass into even more of a frenzy, this is 9 tracks and 20-odd minutes of punishment. Perhaps the aural equivalent of some kind of beating from Ricky Hatton. In terms of passion and energy you cannot knock A!V! and while their style isn’t something I can profess to being a massive fan of, you can’t give them anything less than 10/10 of guts and glory.