Album Review:
Meshiaak
Alliance Of Thieves
August 19, 2016

 

 

I was reading the “about” section of Meshiaak while playing their new album, Alliance Of Thieves the other day at work. I had it playing at a “safe for work” level, something low enough not to make non-metal listeners cringe but loud enough that the printer didn’t interrupt. Someone stuck their head in and said, “Is that Metallica?”, I explained who it was, and emailed them a link to their Facebook page, since we decided I must not be pronouncing the name correctly.

It’s really that simple, people like what they hear and then they share it with someone else.

Today, I’m sharing Meshiaak, the thrash, black metal band from Melbourne, Australia. This supergroup boasts the talents of Jon Dette on drums, Dean Wells on lead guitar and backing vocals, Danny Camilleri also on guitar and vocals, and Nick Walker on bass. With previous experience playing with bands like Slayer, Testament, 4ARM and Teramaze, I am not surprised with how well this album came out.

From start to finish, this album is a masterpiece. It has amazing guitar riffs, vocals and even some acoustic guitar. “I Am Among You” has the best guitar solo on the album, evoking memories of that first time you heard Slash’s guitar solo in “November Rain”. “Drowning, Fading, Falling” is my must listen from this album. The song starts off so slowly that I thought perhaps the playlist had gotten messed up. It builds into a head-bang worthy jam, with a soft deep vocal, intense guitar riffs, and then at the end fades out with a lovely chord.

“Death of An Anthem” closes out the album, and it features that acoustic guitar sound that I mentioned above. It is another track that starts out very slow at the beginning, taking almost a full minute before it flips into a heavy metal sound. That first minute is my favorite part of the track, my heart enjoyed the rest from feverishly beating along with the tempo from the previous tracks.

This supergroup has so much talent, with excellent musicians and songwriters, I am really pleased with how the album turned out. Sometimes things look great on paper, but don’t play out as well in “real world”.

“I’m all about being able to feel music, not just listen to it,” says Danny, summing up the Alliance of Thieves experience. It just about sums up mine as well. Take a listen below and let us know how this album make you feel!

Meshiaak – Alliance of Theives
1. Chronicles Of The Dead
2. It Burns At Both Ends
3. I Am Among You
4. Drowning, Fading, Falling
5. At The Edge Of The World
6. Last Breath Taken
7. Maniacal
8. Alliance Of Thieves
9. Death Of An Anthem
ALBUM RATING: 9/10