CD REVIEW – DANKO JONES – Fire Music

Shane | 18 February 2015 | Reply

CD REVIEW – DANKO JONES – Fire Music
Bad Taste Records/MRI
10 February, 2015
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
9.5/10

Over six studio albums Danko Jones have bullishly created an instantly recognisable sound of their own, combining the best of AC/DC-Thin Lizzy-style hard rock, old school metal and acerbic punk, and it’s a combination which throttles at breakneck speed down the rock n’ roll highway on seventh album Fire Music.

There’s a temptation to label this fiery record as their ‘breakup album’ – not the band, but relationship breakups seem to have informed more than a few of these songs, whereas sex might have been more of a focus in the past.

Opener Wild Woman is relentless, detailing a lady who is beyond Danko’s control, and the band have finally captured every ounce of their irrepressible live energy onto tape, complete with a large extra dose of punkish aggression.

In The Twisting Knife we hear Iron Maiden-esque ‘ohohoh’ chants, Body Bags could well be straight from The Misfits playbook – Jones spraying vitriol like a man barely in control.

New drummer Rich Knox proves to be a powerhouse on his kit, pounding out a more metal rhythm than the heavy rock approach of his predecessor, and he vamps up a storm on the cowbell-funk groove of Do You Wanna Rock. Jones plays the motormouth frontman to the hilt on this track, giving the album a little midway light relief, as does the following Getting Into Drugs, a very tongue-in-cheek observation of the druggy culture of rock n’ roll.

The Motorhead-ey Watch You Slide, Piranha and She Ain’t Coming Home bring us full circle back to the breakup theme, Jones pouring petrol on the fire (music) of this disastrous relationship as all around run for cover from the blast. If based on real events, it’s practically primal scream therapy for the singer/guitarist.

Danko Jones has never been backwards in coming forwards, and on Fire Music his full-force-in-yer-face approach sounds as close to perfect as we’ve heard from a career full of critically acclaimed but commercially cultish releases. Might this be the album which propels this most powerful of trios into the wider public awareness?