I’m listening to an advance copy of Solsikk’s soon to be released self titled album, and I’m just basking in a smorgasbord of superb metal riffage, stunning female vocals and fabulous complex rhythms.

This rich concoction is made possible by the versatile vocals of singer Vykki Turner, the exceptional skills of guitarist Chris Web, and it’s all masterfully held together by bassist Mark Mulcaster and drummer Matt C. This is one wild and very intense album with a style that I’m going to call Jazz Infused Metal! Ha! Ha! That’s probably not really the best way to describe it, and the band will probably disagree with that description, but there are certainly some jazz elements to the frenzied progressions going on here. However, the term jazz may betray the shear intensity and metal nature of the songs.

The pace of the first four songs is simply frantic, in a good way! Some have a funky edge to them, some jazz and some are more metal. Chris’s guitar work is simply incredible. The way he combines funk, jazz and metal together to create such stellar riffs is just pure genius and it all flows along so naturally. Vykki seems to pull from several musical styles as well, as she admirably manages to navigate her way around all the hectic rhythms and changes in timing. Seriously, this woman deserves a medal or something for being able to sing along to these maniacs! Coming up with vocal melodies to match the very busy instrumental parts must be extraordinarily challenging. Vykki has a strong, blues / soul type of voice that should have come through quite clearly, but I found her voice not quite as present as it should be in some places. This is not surprising, when there’s so much going on instrumentally, but I think the mix could have been better in this area. On the other hand, this is a self produced album, and I definitely have to commend the band on the overall great sound they achieved.

As I mentioned earlier, the rhythm section of Solsikk is outstanding. Matt has the difficult task of playing very busy and complicated parts, and at the same time keeping things under control so that we’re not hearing a big mess of percussion. I am super impressed with what he did, and his drumming actually adds a lot of character to the songs. Mark does a great job of tracking Matt’s busy guitar lines as well as adding very tasty fills in just the right places.

The fifth track on the album, “Cut a Little Deeper” is the only ballad type song, and shows that the band is capable of things beyond the blistering tempos found on the rest of the tracks. Vykki really gets to show off her vocal abilities here as she serenades us with a much softer, sultry voice before getting to more powerful sections, and Chris gives us a very dramatic guitar solo as well.

The next few songs return to the crazy mayhem and metal, and I think “Your Blistering Tongue” is probably one of my favorites on the album. Vykki’s voice comes through stronger on this song, and this track just rocks me the right way! The final track, “Bloodlust” starts off at a grindy pace, and I thought I was listening to a 69 Chambers tune for a bit, but it soon breaks into full throttle, and there is some very cool vocal layering on this song.

I have to say that all of the tracks pretty much blow me away. The whole album is just a total face melter, and this band is unbelievably talented. Virtuosos the lot of them! Go and buy this one folks or you’ll miss one hell of a ride. Available on May 2, 2011 on Femme Metal Records.

Websites:
http://www.facebook.com/solsikk
http://www.myspace.com/solsikk

  © John Davies 2011