Dead City Ruins – Shockwave
Release Date: 19th August 2022
Label: AFM Records
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Genre: Classic Rock, Hard Rock.
FFO: Rival Sons, Monster Truck, Skid Row, Alter Bridge, Halestorm.
Review By: Paul Franklin
In these challenging and often depressing modern times, Aussie rockers Dead City Ruins clearly see it as their evangelical mission to bring back the cheer through the medium of thunderous 80s-infused rock.
Preacher sees newly recruited singer Steve Welsh step up to the pulpit, accompanied by shouts of “Hey!” from the congregation and commence the Hard Rock sermon with an elated cry of “I watched the sky crack open, bring me to my knees”. Here beginneth the lesson! A lesson delivered in 12 parts, all of them packed with enough riffs, solos, and sing-along choruses to be worthy of any packed 80’s stadium.
Steve (who had previously made a name for himself on YouTube imitating a plethora of singers from James Hetfield to Ronnie James Dio) is a great fit and, seriously, that dude seems like he can sing just about anything. Witness the Skid Row vibe on Vision, the grungy Spiders, or the Southern blues sway of Rain.
As the name suggests, Speed Machine is a classic full throttle headbanger, whilst the band promise that final track The Sorcerer will “take you on an electric journey into a parallel dimension, where rock and roll wields cosmic powers beyond our comprehension!” You just know there is a case of cold beer in the trunk.
Overall, and despite a couple of average tacks, Shockwave has proved that Dead City Ruins have more than enough groove, attitude, and thunder to convert you to their cause, and that not all Aussie hard rock bands have to sound like the ‘DC.
(3.5 / 5)
