hard rock / heavy metal
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Their facebook page shows the band in front of an airplane with their logo and band name painted on it. That aspect obviously brings up some Iron Maiden references and I can easily imagine some people thinking 'hah, they want to be like Iron Maiden, how cute'. It's not the only reference to Bruce and company either. Being a heavy metal band, Higher Than often shows some comparable twin-guitars, solos and riffs but that's perfectly fine.
They're French, residing in the beautiful but troubled city of Paris. The creative process for this debut began last year after the previous band of members Jim (vocals), Phil (guitar) and Vianney (bass) split up. The album is mainly influenced by their mutual fascination with aviation and good old heavy metal, hence the perfectly chosen title 'Purgatory Airlines'. It's a voyage to the hard rock sounds of the eighties and nineties.
After lift-off in the intro, Higher Than kicks of with immersive melodic hard rock which often reminds me of bands like Skid Row, Poison, Motley Crue to Queensryche, Judas Priest and Saxon. Yet, this quintet gives the whole a modern twist by adding samples and synths, which successfully takes the old school sound into the new era of heavy metal. 'Broken Tales' and 'Miss Mindend' are solid tracks, perfectly capable of convincing even the most headstrong hard rocker.
My favorite track is the title track 'Purgatory Airlines', a brilliant piece of hard rock with great guitars and a highly immersive tempo. The whole album pretty much possesses that atmosphere but for some reason, this song comes out on top. 'Unchained Tiger' comes close to that, so I'll take that as my second favorite. On the other hand, 'Near & Far', the obligatory ballad, is a pretty decent song too.
Oh well, let's just face it, this is a splendid heavy metal album, written and recorded by skilled musicians and talented songwriters. The production is spotless, the level of variation is perfect and the entire approach makes this album an excellent addition to your already crammed cd-cabinet. So check it out, and treat yourself to a flight with 'Purgatory Airlines'. It might be a bit turbulent at times but it's definitely worth it...
Serge
They're French, residing in the beautiful but troubled city of Paris. The creative process for this debut began last year after the previous band of members Jim (vocals), Phil (guitar) and Vianney (bass) split up. The album is mainly influenced by their mutual fascination with aviation and good old heavy metal, hence the perfectly chosen title 'Purgatory Airlines'. It's a voyage to the hard rock sounds of the eighties and nineties.
After lift-off in the intro, Higher Than kicks of with immersive melodic hard rock which often reminds me of bands like Skid Row, Poison, Motley Crue to Queensryche, Judas Priest and Saxon. Yet, this quintet gives the whole a modern twist by adding samples and synths, which successfully takes the old school sound into the new era of heavy metal. 'Broken Tales' and 'Miss Mindend' are solid tracks, perfectly capable of convincing even the most headstrong hard rocker.
My favorite track is the title track 'Purgatory Airlines', a brilliant piece of hard rock with great guitars and a highly immersive tempo. The whole album pretty much possesses that atmosphere but for some reason, this song comes out on top. 'Unchained Tiger' comes close to that, so I'll take that as my second favorite. On the other hand, 'Near & Far', the obligatory ballad, is a pretty decent song too.
Oh well, let's just face it, this is a splendid heavy metal album, written and recorded by skilled musicians and talented songwriters. The production is spotless, the level of variation is perfect and the entire approach makes this album an excellent addition to your already crammed cd-cabinet. So check it out, and treat yourself to a flight with 'Purgatory Airlines'. It might be a bit turbulent at times but it's definitely worth it...
Serge
