Review: Primal Rock Rebellion

Review by Steve K

Primal Rock Rebellion: Awoken Broken

This is a “Jam Rock” album; veteran Rock musicians Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden, and Mike Goodman from SikTh get together to just rock out, come up with some songs and put their own distinct touches on them.

The tracks here are really great; enjoyable and obviously crafted and played with the precision of masters.  Sometimes they delve into a little cliché, but some of those clichés were their own invention, so why not let them have their moments?

What to listen to here?  Pretty much the whole thing, but most especially the opener “No Friendly Neighbour”, the powerhouses “I See Lights”, “Savage World” also spring to mind.  “White Sheet Robes” is a brilliant indictment of the “conformity is sanity” message of too many leading experts in psychology.  The title track, “Awoken Broken” is a powerhouse all to itself.

Some of the songs are a little much, however; “Snake Ladders”, “Tortured Tone” and “Mirror and the Moon”, particularly seem to be the weak points on this one.

That aside, this is an enjoyable and worthwhile Rock-Out-With-Your-Cock-Out type of album, one that breathes just a little fresh breath into a Hard Rock / Metal genre that’s all too often a little stale and musty.

Primal Rock Rebellion: Awoken Broken – 9/10

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