ALBUM REVIEW: Shockwave – Dead City Ruins

Melbourne hard-rockers DEAD CITY RUINS have put out their third full-length record Shockwave. With this new record comes new changes in the form of a new frontman, Sean Welsh, whose previous work was seen on YouTube where he imitated a plethora of metal vocalists. Furthermore, Shockwave allowed DEAD CITY RUINS to work with US-producer, Gene Freeman, who has previously worked with legendary bands such as LAMB OF GOD, CLUTCH and CROBOT.

With all of this in mind, you are led to believe that we are in for an epic album and, oh boy, were you right. Opening with lead single Preacher, you will find yourself stood there, mouth open in shock, and that is how you will remain for the entirety of the track. Mouth still agape you then begin to raise your fist in the air as the band starts going “Hey!” loudly.

And it continues; Madness is an insane track that truly gets you excited and is truly one of the standout moments of the record. Not only can you hear the classic hard rock influences like LED ZEPPELIN but you can also hear some modern influences, the kind of sound you might expect from ROYAL BLOOD, for example.

Other key moments include the strong drum intro during The Side Of Dirt, the hyped-up Spiders where you can imagine yourself walking down the road full of confidence as it plays in the background, and the epic Blood Moon, which has a rather cool atmospheric opening that you can picture being used in a horror film scene as the main characters prepare to battle the enemy, more specifically a pack of werewolves, a coven of vampires or a hoard of zombies. You know what we mean.

Having said that though, there are moments where it’s easy to zone out as things become a little bit dull. Not much can really be said about certain tracks, but you find yourself easily forgiving DEAD CITY RUINS for this as they then pull you back with the following track or next epic moment.

Shockwave is full of incredible breakdowns and strong vocal performances that can be enjoyed by both classic and modern rock fans, and regardless of there being points where it can be easy to zone out it’s still great to have on in the background. An overall enjoyable album that will make up for the points where one might drift off by recapturing your attention with full force.

Rating: 7/10

Shockwave is out now via AFM Records.

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