Berserkers are a quartet from Bordeaux, founded in 2009. They are heavily inspired by the hard rock scene of the seventies but also experienced in everything the rock industry produced later on. On this album those elements result in some heavy rocking, often accompagnied by these vintage keyboards. Everything here reeks of old school, strong riffs, that mesmerizing keyboard and a methodical drummer.
Opener 'Outlaw' is a raunchy piece of rock 'n roll, in the beginning reminding me of bands like Deep Purple or Living Color. However, gradually, other references come to mind, including Red Hot Chili Peppers and even the horrible Spin Doctors, but rest assured, the music on this album is far from horrible. 'Blind Taste' is a solid piece of rock music, 'The Foolish Man' is a classic hard rock anthem and 'Rock Save The World' is a party-cracker.
The only suggestion I would make, is this: make the vocalist chain-smoke some heavy cigarettes and drink at least one bottle of whiskey each day. That way, the vocals might get that extra raspy, grinding edge that would make this music stand out between the tonnes of other rock 'n roll bands. Often, the vocals are a bit too clean and goody-goody to me, but then again, on 'Heroes Are Back In Town' the make up some awesome choruses.
But now for the final question, who should I recommend this album to? Well, obviously the old school rocker who has been into everything from Led Zeppelin to Guns 'n Roses and everything from Rainbow to Black Crowes. This is one for the so-called "dad-rock" fans, and I mean that in the best possible way. After all, that generation has witnessed the entire (d)evolution of rock music, from awesome to "meh", and now with 'Lock 'n Load' can have awesome again...
Serge