Blog Post
Mason Hill – 'Against The Wall' Release Date – 5th March 2021
Michael Bruce • Feb 15, 2021
Album Review
March 5th, 2021 will go down as a pivotal date in the history of this Scottish based quintet. The day that Against The Wall was finally released. With 6 years between the band’s debut EP and the full length offering, 6 long years that have had their fair share of delays and setbacks. But now this 12-track album is finally unleashed in all its sonic glory and boy what an impact it is going to have. Preceded with singles Against The Wall, Find My Way and DNA already, we have had a taster of what delights are stored within the grooves of the record. The buzz that is evident with this band and particularly this debut album is, dare I use this well used word “unprecedented”, and looks like it is well justified in being so.
Reborn gets the album off to an atmospheric acoustic and almost industrial start, building this intro up and into the first full length song No Regret. You could be mistaken for thinking this was a Muse song with the rolling bass line superbly supplied by Matthew Ward. However, this song has more bite than the aforementioned superstars’ songs. With some light and shade in this song the listening audience are lulled into a well-crafted song of mid-tempo bone crushing riffs. Singer Scott Taylor tells us that originally this song was written about the optimism of signing the band’s first Record Deal, with time the meaning has become ironic in itself about having no regrets when you should have regrets!
Title track and lead single from the album is up next. Against The Wall is another example of some clever song writing from guitarist James Bird and singer Scott Taylor. A nice mellow verse before you get sucked into the sing along chorus. Scott tells us that the song is about defiance and determination in the face of overwhelming setbacks. You can check out the band deliver a visual feast with the video for the single showing their rage at being told what to do by faceless suits.
Broken Son continues the experience with another mid-tempo rocker. The boys seem to have the knack of reeling the listener into a catchy chorus which on this occasion is preceded by a more laid-back verse. This was one of the first songs written at the age of 16/17 by singer Scott Taylor and the meaning behind this was feeling like the black sheep of my family and not knowing his place in life.
We live and breathe music and you could say it’s in our DNA to never stop. This is a perfect way to introduce the most recent single and video released by the band. Simply titled D.N.A. Starting with a riff and drum pattern that gets you hooked instantly before the main riff start. With a sublime arrangement again showing clever use of space and hooks. This has to be one of the standout tracks on the album for me. It has everything….and if you don’t get goosebumps listening to this then you better get an appointment sorted at the local surgery. This song will undoubtedly be a staple of the live set once we all get back out into the gig world again and wouldn’t sound out of place on the stage of the largest arena in the land.
Taking the tempo down a little we have the much slower Who We Are with some thoughtfully reflective lyrics intertwined with melodic guitar lines. You can imagine this song in the SSE Hydro with a sea of thousands of phone lights and swaying arms a plenty. The band tell us that guitarist James Bird had a big influence in the vocals for this song, he wanted to showcase a truly positive message about self-identity and not being afraid of who you are. A positive message indeed!
The second single from the album, Find My Way, is up next and what a way to get the pulses back up to the dangerous level. With a hint of Velvet Revolver in the opening riff we once again are treated to bag of hooks that any world class fisherman would be proud to own. This full steam ahead rocker has a solo on it that one could be forgiven for thinking that Mark Tremonti had guested on the album. Pure class.
Back in October 2018 the band released Hold On with a video directed by Dan Reed. We get a shinier version here before the cleverly constructed Out Of Reach. Taylor tells us that this was written at a young age again and it was about just how large and scary the journey of a musician is and almost feeling overwhelmed at the difficult challenge faced.
Are we getting a bit of a rest in between a sonic pounding? Yep, it would seem like it as an ominous intro to We Pray starts before the assault of riffs are unloaded in our direction. Slowly building up in volume and intensity before another catchy chorus heads our way. Solid drumming from Craig McFetridge on this one and intricate guitar playing from both Bird and Marc Montgomery. Gang style vocals interspersed under the main melody remind us of the song title. This song is all based on the hope of the future, Knowing this is our path but not knowing if its achievable yet fighting for it anyway.
The last full-length song on the album is one that all Mason Hill fans will be familiar with. Where I Belong is a song that I think the band will be playing throughout their long career. A song inspired by Taylor’s struggles with being lost in life generally and something that helped him conquer his personal mountain. With the song writing duo of Bird and Taylor taking the lead on this ballad before the remaining members drop into fill out and augment this classy song. Tasteful backing vocals which add to the feeling of this song. Credit must be given to James Bird for the feeling evoked in this solo. Building up throughout and then leading Scott Taylor back into the chorus that so many of us know.
To finish the debut album, we have a reprise of Reborn. Maybe the title is an indication of the feeling within the band of how they feel with this album finally out and that monkey now off their backs.
Credit must be given to Chris Sheldon for the modern sound created on this record. One that allows the listener to experience the full Mason Hill experience at its best.
And now with blood pressure and heart rate back to an acceptable level we can reflect on what is one of the most anticipated debuts this country has seen for a while. I can’t recommend this debut album enough, it delivers on multiple levels – song writing, craftsmanship, playing ability, and overall feeling. With some support tours planned for 2021 (lockdown and restrictions allowing them) the band are destined to be on the lips of every promoter in the land looking for a hot ticket band to grace the largest of stages, and a band that can deliver this level of music in a live setting. We can all breathe a sigh of relief that the future of Scottish, British and dare I say it Worldwide rock music is safe in the hands of this 5 piece, now let us go out and rejoice and share the gospel according to Mason Hill.
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