Scottish rock trio widens the boarders of its sound

The rock trio Biffy Clyro emerged in Scotland in Ayrshire and consists of musicians Simon Neil (vocals, guitar) and twin brothers James Johnston (bass, vocals) and Ben Johnston (drums, vocals). They started performing in 1995, and their early music was significantly inspired by the songs of their favorite band Nirvana. The collective at that time was called Screwfish. The tracks of the band gathered a sizeable audience thanks to the heavy, but tuneful sounding and unusual vocal style of the musicians – they prefer to provide the vocals to the songs together. In 1997, Biffy Clyro in its entire lineup moved to Glasgow, where all the band members entered different educational facilities – Simon chose a university, while James and Ben entered a college. Soon the artists were noticed and they signed their first musical contract in life. The first three albums Blackened Sky (2002), The Vertigo of Bliss (2003) and Infinity Land (2004) recommended Biffy Clyro among the United Kingdom fans of rock music, and their forth disc Puzzle, released in 2007, made the band’s way into mainstream. The new fifth disc by Biffy Clyro is titled Only Revolutions and is aimed to enlarge the group’s popularity due to the sound boarders widening and more light arrangement.

The sound evolution on Only Revolutions

In spite of the title, you are not going to find anything revolution-like on this album – vice versa, Biffy Clyro members chose the path of evolution in the matter of sound. Their new album is a wonderful example of the hard-rock synthesis with the infectious motifs and pop choruses, oriented on the widest audience. The album kicks off with the single The Captain - a dramatic, expressive rock track, which is sure to become one the bets hits by the band in their biography. The track hooks with the use of military marches in order to create the heroic atmosphere. The pop-rock composition Bubbles will strike the listeners with the guitar solo, while the philosophic track God & Satan will give the food for the thought to those band fans, who appreciate not only the music, but the verses too. In the tune Know Your Quarry, the dark beginning gives way to the impressive chorus, and the likened by the listeners hit Mountains is sure to infect you with its energy and emotions. The tune That Golden Rule will suddenly strike with the orchestral arrangement, while the track Born On A Horse experiments with the synthesized sounds. The song Cloud Of Stink is built around one of the best guitar riffs by the band, and the composition Shock Shock plays with growling. The disc closes with the gorgeous final track Whorses.

Biffy Clyro make their confident way to success

As it often happens, the story of the band Biffy Clyro started from the desire of the three guys to mimic their grunge idols and make a band, which could easily stay their youth whim and nothing more. However, if a collective gets such gifted persons as Symon Neil and the Johnston brothers, it could not finish that easily – Biffy Clyro were noticed and they were given a chance to perform on the big stage. The artists did not break the hopes of their producers, although some fans called Biffy Clyro the sell-outs. Well, they do not make giant leaps, but they confidently move forward the mainstream popularity on the world level. The disc Only Revolutions became one more firm step on their way to the top of the fame. The artists definitely kept their best qualities on this disc, wisely making the winning combination of the lighter sounding and pop melodies. The music by the band definitely saw changes on Only Revolutions, but at the same time, the creativity by Biffy Clyro preserved identity and originality. The collective’s evolution in order to win the mainstream was a definite success and benefited the tracks on this disc. The artists are ready for sure to the testament by big glory.

Ninelle Kazakoff

16.11.2009

Vote this review: 1 2 3 4 5
Review points: 4.00
Total votes: 4