Blog Post
Durbin - 'The Beast Awakens'
Iain McArthur • 20 February 2021
Album Review
James Durbin is not exactly a household name in The States but his profile is certainly higher there than over here thanks to his good run in 2011’s American Idol. Now that might trigger an unconscious bias in some of you, based on an aversion to these kind of talent shows, but you need to bear in mind that the US versions are generally a class above the kind of dross we endure over here and with less of a hipster aversion to rock. Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry provide some proof and Durbin himself got to perform with the actual Judas Priest in his final episode.
Durbin’s sometimes harrowing backstory does include a background in children’s theatre but he’s got rock in his DNA as his late father was the bass player in bands before sadly succumbing to a heroin overdose when James was 9. Despite battling Tourette’s and Asperger’s, James has carved out a career combining pop and country music with stints in metal bands Hollywood Scars and Quiet Riot.
This latest album is the first under the ‘Durbin’ moniker for Frontiers and is an unabashed throwback to 80s metal bands like Priest and Dio, with song titles drawn from the fantasy lexicon such as “Necromancer” and “Evil Eye”. “The Prince of Metal” is quite a statement piece with Durbin’s impressive Halfordian high-pitched vocals soaring to a variety of heights. It is definitely OTT but once heard it will definitely make you want to ‘raise your horns and bang your head’ for a long time.
Durbin has enlisted some heavyweight help with Mike Vanderhule from Y&T on drums and Barry Sparks (Dokken / Nugent) on bass plus an impressive list of guitarists adding solos. It’s Phil Demmel on “Kings Before You” alongside Chris Jericho of WWE / Fozzy fame on guest vocals.
Could they be any more Dio-like than on “The Sacred Mountain”? And “Riders on the Wind” could be off ‘Heaven & Hell’ with a more-Iommi- than-Iommi riff. There are smoother tracks like “Into the Flames” and the excellent “Battle Cry” but things even take a Manowar turn on “Rise to Valhalla”.
You can’t deny the quality of the voice. It’s all quite theatrical so you have to suspend belief sometimes but if you can get yourself back into an early 80s mentality then there’s much to enjoy. It can go from theatrical to pantomime at times and the ‘Role Models’ style video to “The Prince of Metal” is a bit daft but overall it is a fun listen. Preferably in loin cloth, baby oil and Viking helmet!