Grappling Hook -
...And Those Who Would Keep Us SafeReview by John Pegoraro (StonerRock.com)
Blastco Records
Release date: 2009
Taste is not only subjective, but it's also pretty malleable. While my baseline will always be “loud, dumb rock,” I've branched off into different, more challenging directions over the years. In 2009, the primary new direction seemed to be 70's influenced prog rock.
On paper, that'd make Grappling Hook's
...And Those Who Would Keep Us Safe a surefire winner, but after an extended visit with the North Carolina four-piece's debut, I'm not entirely sold on the concept. It's not that I don't like the album – giving it a good, honest listen shows some faults, sure, but not so many to outright dismiss the effort.
It seems that for every two steps forward, the band insists on taking one steps weirdward. The album opens strongly with “Judge You Not O Juggernaut,” a manic, forward moving number that indulges in the fancy rhythms and grandiose, bombastic delivery that predominately defines
...And Those Who Would Keep Us Safe. But both “Broken and Stolen” and “A Closing Fist Can Crush Your Heart” seem to build up great moments, only to squander them moments later with vocally shrill passages. “Lurking Evil” doesn't work at all, but on the other hand, it's a perfect to precede “For All the People,” which itself leads well into “The Carnage Story,” another harder hitting, more straightforward number. And closing track “In Their Waking Hours” pretty much sums up all the progressive oddness that came before and is another highlight.
So why am I not overjoyed with this? You're guess is as good as mine. It could be the vocals, which, as I said, lean towards the shrill. It could be that Grappling Hook's reach sometimes exceeds its grasp. It could just be me (re: my baseline) At any rate,
...And Those Who Would Keep Us Safe may not be as satisfying as some of the other 70's influenced prog rock I've heard this year, but it definitely has enough going for it to recommend it to fans of the genre.
URL: http://www.myspace.com/grapplinghookusa
