Bigelf - Cheat the Gallows Review
by Mark Hensch
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The phrase "retro rock" is one which annoyingly enough gets tossed around a lot these days. From the way hipsters, magazines, and MTV prattle on, it would seem that rock and roll is a spirit which just about anyone can possess.
Personally speaking this idea has always seemed like a sham. The days of old are gone, and purist rock and roll has lacked a power that no one would have imagined it losing decades ago.
The above holds true until one experiences Los Angeles' Bigelf for themselves. This talented quartet seemingly carries the torch for classic rock, bringing the original sound which inspired so many into a much different age.
The band's latest album, the grimly-titled Cheat the Gallows, sounds like that long sought-after blueprint for what a real rock band should sound like. At its heart is the paranoid sense of doom Black Sabbath proposed. From there, the orchestral aspirations of Queen collide with the mind-altering mechanics of Pink Floyd and the everyman appeal of the Beatles. The end result is something wholly separate from the sad state of radio rock, and much more keeping with the legends that started the genre in the first place.
With this in mind, Cheat the Gallows feels like an otherworldly arena rock concert, rife with bombast and ballsy theatrics. "Gravest Show on Earth," for example, sounds like a militant version of Queen rallying for war with Sgt. Pepper. "Blackball," meanwhile, is a doom anthem channeling Ozzy-era Sabbath before sinking into a laid-back guitar clinic. Beyond this, the cautionary tale that is "Money, It's Pure Evil" sounds like a Beatles piano ballad with some more blistering guitars. "Superstar," in contrast, rattles speakers with arena rock riffs that would probably do KISS proud. After this, "Race with Time" begins with eerie keyboards and sparkling piano before busting out some seriously wicked guitar riffs and changing back again. All these cuts lead into the epic "Counting Sheep," an 11 minute rock opera teetering between crushing doom and grim theatrics.
Some may argue that rock is dead, but music like this proves it most definitely is not. Bigelf have crafted a wonderful album broad in scope and sharp in powerful rock. Get this and I promise you will not feel Cheated, not one iota.
Bigelf - Cheat the Gallows
Gravest Show on Earth
Blackball
Money, It's Pure Evil
The Evils of Rock and Roll
No Parachute
The Game
Superstar
Race with Time
Hydra
Counting Sheep
CD Info and Links
Bigelf - Cheat the Gallows Rating:A Perfect 10
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