Blitz a band proving themselves to be a contending force in todays Rock scene. Hailing from Nottingham UK and on a mission with their soon to be released 3rd Studio album ‘Kicking Up A Storm.’ Unfortunately due to unforeseen technical issues have incurred a delay in its release, but fear not this band love their fans realising not 1, not 2 but 4 Tracks before the main event. In the meantime Candy Rocks weighs in on ‘Kicking Up A Storm‘ this album will be well worth the wait.
Track 1 – ‘Breakneck‘ The first track on the album and also the first single to come from the album. ‘Breakneck’ is more about kicking up dust, hitting the highway after a gig, sweaty, tiered and hungry for food. All you can think about is food, home, shower and bed. Problem there’s nowhere to eat first. Blitz paint this picture with punching riffs like a fuel hungry Lambo. Only problem is your van is full of equipment and your the fuel hungry Lamborghini. That’s just me outlining this track. Breakneck is a track of what it really like being on the road in a band. It’s got drumming like a fire spitting hyper car, riffs like a screaming motorcycle, deep tones like lifting the throttle, only Blitz ain’t backing off, it’s full throttle balls out till the end. (Happy Eating).
Track 2 – ‘Shell Shocked‘ Take a classic riff we’ve all probably heard before by many a rock band. Who have all used it to great effect, not going to list any BORING. Blitz on the other hand use it to trick you into thinking, oh here is another rock band using that riff, well they don’t HAHA! Instead use it to fill areas of Shell Shocked out, these guys let a thundering bass line and drums drive the verses, because Stuart Cordons voice is a powerhouse along with his bass playing. Mat Davis adds extra vocals and some clever little drum fills. Kevin Simpson on guitar adds what I can only describe as awesome little fills mixed some power chords at certain points throughout that lead you into the chorus. Kevin‘s lead break is off the wall as it drops back out into little fills as Mat and Stuart take back over. I love how in the background you can hear it starting to build up again while Stuart is speaking, then bound the power kicks back in for the chorus. Blitz have taken that classic saying “Sometimes Less is More.” For me Blitz have taken that saying and shown us what less is more can sound like. It’s rocking, it’s a simple chorus that doesn’t need much more than Shell Shocked and a fill line, which it has, it will have you singing along to it that’s for sure.
Track 3 – C.O.G. ‘Crawling On Glass‘ This is a track that will take you back in time, as Blitz have taken their early influences in music from all those bands they grew up listening to in their bedrooms, bouncing around pretending to be in those bands, apart from Mat sat on his bed air drumming. C.O.G is top down convertible cruising summertime feel good music, even if the lyrics say otherwise. This is a Blitz mood lifter, smile on your face, life ain’t great, but hey your alive, so enjoy the moment. Especially when your hearing great riffs that sound like, Hey the sun is shining let’s go to the beach with your friends. Blitz deliver great vocals, Riffs and drumming that tell you these guys were enjoying life as soon as they started playing this song and want you to share this with them. So go do just that!
Track 4 – ‘Keep Moving on’ OK I’ll carry on with cruising to the beach from C.O.G, because when you get there Blitz are the band playing. This is a rocking little number. It twists into Jazz, Blues section, then back to rocking the night away. They have a great message to say, It’s never to late, just keep on moving. Blitz this is you in an American convertible cruising to the beach and rocking this baby out.
Track 5 – ‘We Are The Power’ Some really powerful drumming from Mat open this track, with dampened chord strikes from Kevin that build up into the opening riffs that make up the chorus. This track is about us standing up together, stop picking on each other, because we have the power if we do just that. Blitz have set this message to some great punchy riffs, as it’s not about making you feel anger or sadness, it’s about understanding that feel good music can still send the same clear message. What Blitz have found is a great way to deliver that, you hear the lyrics and feel the power of good music.
Track 6 – ‘Addicted To Corruption’ A Chinese cymbal is what I’m thinking opens this track and it’s almost like Blitz took everything from all those bands that played apart in their growing up to who they’ve become today. I hear Ratt, Van Halen, Rainbow, Dokken. Though many bands will follow the style of a certain band that influenced them, but Blitz put this Frankenstein Monster together. It’s constructed to perfection, as it twists and turns through clever changes into the chorus, before Kevin lays down an amazing lead break and if all that isn’t enough Stuart adds vocals that I can only describe as David Lee Roth of those early Van Halen days. Perfect!!
Track 7 – I’ll Find You In Yesterday. As I’ve reviewed this track previously, in part – This is pure rawness at the beginning with Kevin on piano and Stuart‘s vocals Mat adding this cymbal crash fading like waves rolling onto the rocks, as it opens into keyboards and guitar in the background, with Stuart singing his heart out that day. It’s like he is back there lost in that moment in time again as all the music wrapped around him like some big comfy blanket, his friends Kevin and Mat feeling what he was going through and hell did they do their friend justice, Kevin adds the most beautiful guitar solo, while Mat on drums adds to it with fills that make it even more powerful, because ‘I’ll Find You In Yesterday‘ is building into it’s power chord and chorus before it finishes how it all began with just a piano and vocals, then you hear it fade away as the last vocal and notes are played. (Find the full review HERE).
Track 8 – ‘Freddie Said’ Remember when ‘Freddie Said’ “If your not living darlings your better off dead.” Stuart delivers it in his own unique style part way through this tribute to the legend Freddie Mercury. What I like about this track is that it is not done in some queen style, no guitars sounding like Brian May etc. That is what I really love. Blitz staying true to their style, paying tribute, their way, their sound. There is no better way to do that than staying true to yourselves. The opening is like Metallica‘s ‘The Unforgiven,’ but you can soon remove that idea as it punches out some great riffs and lyrics that I’m sure Freddie is going to be smiling over and saying “That’s Me Darlings.”
Track 9 – Hesitate This has some really great drumming, it’s like Mat said “Hey I’ve got more than a snare and bass drum.” Mat lays out a beat like thunder rolling through a valley while Kevin‘s guitar is adding fills to not take anything away from that beat Mat is thundering out. Once again this is Blitz showing what can happen when you use all your musical influences be it from seventies glam rock to the more heavy end of the scale. This track rocks a great beat.
Track 10 – Kicking Up A Storm Last but by far no means least. This soft opening track with a great line from Stuart, Kevin playing his guitar makes you think David Gilmour from Pink Floyd is guesting on this. Wrong!! It suddenly bursts into a powerful intro that makes up the chorus, Mat‘s bass drum pounding like some hard rock, heavy metal track, this is another melting pot of styles. It has got a Scar, Reggae riff added by Kevin which really works. Constantly changing pace from slow, soft to out and out power with vocals from Stuart to match as he changes from almost spoken to something Pink Floyd would perform. This is hard rock, Funk, Floyd. Blitz style.
Blitz for me named this album perfectly, because these guys are definitely going to be ‘Kicking Up A Storm.’ Don’t ask me to pick a favourite track because I really don’t have one I have ten. So if you interview Blitz and ask them what their musical influences are? I hope they ask you if you fully listened to to ‘Kicking Up A Storm’ and just once, then wrote some of the usual questions on a bit of paper. This album has almost everything Blitz grew-up listening too, and yes I’m telling you this again in case you scan read. I’m a hard person to please when it comes to music, I like to hear everything , that it’s mixed correctly, Matt Ellis did just that at Axis Studios in Doncaster. Kicking Up A Storm will be released via Shock Records.
I don’t care if it’s a three track EP or a ten track album, you can’t produce quality with egos and Blitz don’t have that, they have a thirst and desire to deliver nothing but their absolute best, it’s heart and soul stop at nothing until it sounds like some big budget album.
Blitz don’t have that big budget, but what they do have is the dedication and people around them to make you think ‘Kicking Up A Storm’ had such a budget, right down to the artwork by Dave Hurst and photography from Heather Burns. The quality is amazing in my ears and on the cover.
BLITZ are:
Stuart Cordon Bass, Lead Vocals
Kevin Simpson Guitar
Mat Davis Drums & Vocals
