It is hard to tell just where BACKWOODS PAYBACK’s roots are. Is it metal with a strong punk feel, late-era COC, PANTERA etc.? Or are they coming from the other side of the fence, ultra heavy punk rock, POISON IDEA, ROLLINS, stuff like that? I have a feeling that it is a bit of both, and good for them as this demo is a very solid heavy punk/metal album.

There are a lot of influences I can hear ranging from the above-mentioned bands to stuff like CELTIC FROST, NAPALM DEATH, NEUROSIS, FRANK ZAPPA and WEEN. Yes that is correct, NAPALM DEATH and WEEN. You just need to listen vocal styles in the songs "Pat the Bat" or "Runaway Sinclair" to hear the WEEN or ZAPPA quirkiness. Listen to the song "Nepatism" however, and you will be swept away by a ferocious grinding metal assault.

"Book One" is a real grower. Although the vocals do have a number of various styles, the majority of the time they sit somewhere between a Rollins / Danzig / Jerry A. crossed with a touch of Tom Araya from the "South of Heaven" days. On the instrumentation front, the guitar work does lack any form of soloing, but really who needs solos when you are rocking this hard? The rhythm section of the band is as solid as a brick shit house (which is Aussie for pretty bloody solid). Nice album, I will be looking out for "Book II".

- Saltry

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/backwoodspayback666

RELATED ITEMS: No related articles at this time.