Rating: RRRRr
Metalapolis Records 2021
Review by Kimmo Toivonen
I can’t help but think that Maverick’s sound is based on the first SKID ROW album. Of course that’s not entirely true, but on their latest effort they come close to recreating the magic of that album. Similary, ”Ethreality” features a very strong set of songs with big hooks, powerful performances and a huge ”Wagenerian” production. As in Michael Wagener…
Despite the Skid Row comparison, strangely the band doesn’t sound entirely like a retro/eighties-throwback kind of a thing. I could imagine them being played on the radio between Nickelback, Hinder and Black Veil Brides, and I think the fans of those band would like them too.
Vocalist David Belfour isn’t a Sebastian Bach clone, he has a cool voice of his own with an interesting vibrato and a bit of a rasp. It’s closer to Chris Daughtry than ”Baz” actually. The guitar duo of Ryan Belfour and Ric Cardwell shoot out fierce riffs and solos with flash and style, while drummer Jason-Steve Mageney adds a bit of a modern power metal vibe to some of the songs. Richie Diver’s rumbling bass lines weave it all together.
Favourite songs at the moment: ”Bells Of Stygian”, ”Switchblade Sister” and ”Dying Star”… ask me again tomorrow and you’ll get a different answer. Hell, the favorites have changed several times while writing this review! I think that’s a sign of a strong album… that and the total lack of ”skippable” tracks! Maybe that one "ultimate stand-out track" is missing, but the overall quality is on a very high level.
I’ve liked all the previous Maverick albums, but this might just be their best one so far.
Awesome!
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