Baleful Creed | ‘Buried Beneath’

Belfast’s Baleful Creed, despite being around since 2008, are a crowd that have flown well beneath my radar up until now.

Playing a variant of traditional heavy rock, with a large helping of Glen Danzig-esque crooning, the band have here a very decent record. There are even grunge leanings here, and Metallica’s ‘Load’ sounds like an album these boys are clearly familiar with.

There is a lot to like about this EP. This style is by no means my meat and drink in terms of my day to day listening, and it is not an ambitious demo.

However what is proffered is done well and is without pretentions. Many bands, in fact the majority, will claim to be ‘doing this for ourselves’ or some equally vacuous soundbyteology, but it is clear from these five tracks that in Baleful Creed’s case, it is absolutely genuine.

The EP begins with a quick paced opener, with chuggy guitars and a textbook low end bass sound. The pace is slowed with second track ‘Crazy Man’, elements of which remind the listener of old school RHCP and even Pearl Jam. The instrumentation follows a tried and tested formula. Its all well within range, but the sheer enthusiasm and enjoyment of the players can’t help but rub off on the listener.

The remainder of the EP is well balanced. The leads are delivered by an experienced guitarist who has enough nous to augment the riff rather than attempt the well worn axe man ‘golpe de estado’ we are all too familiar with.

The previously mentioned ‘Crazy Man’ epitomises this dynamic. The vocals are for the most part confident and well delivered, although the odd effects on the backing vocals on the last track ‘Suffer in Silence’ may be something Baleful Creed might reconsider for the next trip to the studio.

This EP does give the listener a mental image a band who would not be out of place at a biker rally. Pint bottles of Bulmers / Magners, patched leathers and beards are certainly hinted at throughout.

I’ll have to wait to catch Baleful Creed live to see if reality is in concert with what I’ve just described.

One negative to point out is the quality of the lyrics. It’s clear from the beginning that they were either rushed, or the wordsmith is working on a higher intellectual playing field to this humble reviewer. The words on ‘Her Promise’ being a particular head scratcher.

Nonetheless, this is a good, honest and well executed EP. It is certainly not pushing the envelope at this early stage by any means, but for fans of Heavy Rock, this hard working band’s tunes will be up your alley. Good effort.

Kevin Jacob ::: 06/08/12

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