West by God -
For Glory or for FlamesReview by John Pegoraro (StonerRock.com)
Self Released
Release date: 2009
Imagine for a minute what the world would be like if the Eighteenth Amendment - aka Prohibition – wasn't repealed. Would speakeasies still thrive? (Definitely.) Would we become a nation of buttoned down, morally strident and good-time repressed foot soldiers in the Temperance Movement? (Doubtful.) Most importantly, would hack writers like myself still be able to use phrases like “whiskey soaked” when talking about bands like West by God Virginia's West by God? (It would be better for all if not.)
Fortunately cooler, drunker heads prevailed and “The Noble Experiment” was consigned to the dustbin of history (and Wikipedia). And I can say without fear of legal reprisal that
For Glory or for Flames is indeed brimming with whiskey soaked riffs and vocals. It's as if the whole album was recorded in a distillery. That the band had broken into. After getting pie-eyed on sour mash.
Of course, that's not to imply that the album sounds sloppy. Far from it.
For Glory or for Flames is a nimble exercise in southern fuzz rock, balancing powerhouse riffs with a soulful delivery and subtly dexterous playing. The obvious comparison would be post-
Elephant Riders Clutch, but truthfully I find West by God to have more in common with Sixty Watt Shaman. Like the Shaman, you sometimes wish West by God would lean a little harder into songs like “Home No More” and “Hello Mingo” and let them go all out, but most of the time you wind up marveling at how well the band puts their own warm spin on an overworked genre. This one's done for glory for sure.
URL: http://www.myspace.com/westbygod304
