Kodiak Jack Scars ep review.



Kodiak Jack return with their brand new four track EP 'Scars', the follow up to last year's critically acclaimed 'Alhambra' album, set for release on the 10th August on Angry Badger Records preceded  by the first single 'Only The Good' on the 27th July.

After first seeing the band live supporting Tesla last year Kodiak Jack blew us away with their razor sharp riffs and melodic choruses to die for.

This new recording takes what they did with their excellent Alhambra album and add more riffs and for me even more melodic choruses and bridges and they have produced 4 top quality songs all begging to be played live and more importantly be played on radio stations and cd players across the planet.

First single Only The Good starts the ep in magnificent fashion with a huge guitar riff before the band crash in with Keiran Bellinger on drums setting the pace with Kev Farren on bass laying down the groove.With the band managing to recreate their live power in the studio it is a wall of sound with Jon Karp and Jeff Arnold on guitars to the forefront.I love the way they add extra melodic guitar melodies as it leads to the huge huge chorus with Bryn Roberts vocal melody a joy.He has a gritty edge to his vocal at times but has a wonderful melodic tone that the band use so well with a backing vocal giving added depth.The guitar solo stops mid point for the big riff to kick back to the fore before the solo restarts and I for one can't wait to see the song played live.



Next track Scars was played on the last tour and has developed into a masterpiece.Starting with an electric picked note section before the band all come in but with not so much force as on Only The Good but if anything it is even more powerful for it.
Dropping to just a drum beat and bobbing bass line and Bryn's vocal the song grows with added guitar melodies and I love the way on this track the backing vocal comes in as it builds into the chorus which is simply fantastic and begging to be sang back by huge crowds.So melodic but with such power as the whole band rock out.
Again it dips to drums and bass but with more added guitar melodies on the second verse as Bryn tells us those Scars are going to last forever!!
After a short guitar solo some of my beloved light and shade as the band take it down as Bryn gets a chance to shine showing off his vocal range and you can see the veins in his neck as he puts it all in as it moves back to the chorus again!!
Added guitar melodies to the chorus take it to another level with guitar and vocals merging into one as the song comes to a close.Brilliant.

Sirens has another big riff and groove that as the vocals kick in changes to a stop start riff in the verse before it builds to the chorus and everyone kicks in with a guitar melody playing under Bryn's vocal which is at it's melodic best.
A secondary chugging riff takes us away from the chorus in a song destined to be a live favourite with plenty of guitar riffs and pace and a superb picked guitar solo mid song.

All I Want sees the band stretching out with Bryn's vocal range being shown off over a picked electric section at the start.The band then join in at a slower pace to earlier on the ep with some nice added guitar melodies as it moves into the chorus and a held guitar riff to the fore.More light and shade as they take it down pre chorus and it shows they know that it is even more powerful when all the band come in together.
The guitar solo starts slowly with plenty of held notes that suddenly goes off at a tangent with the band taking the pace back up as the solo gets faster and faster.Another one I look forward to seeing live as you can imagine the band taking it even further.
I think this song shows how the band are growing and how their writing is developing as they start to push boundaries and find their niche.

Over the course of 4 tracks and 15 minutes Kodiak Jack have managed to blow away their Alhambra album and set their course for the future which looks brighter by the second.

Their Scars ep is a statement of intent that Kodiak Jack are here for the long term and I for one can't wait for what comes next.

































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