BULLISTIC
Chronicles of Love & Hate
Rock Ridge Music 2005
www.bullistic.org

What’s the 4-1-1?
Debut release by the Richmond, Virginia metal band.

Genre
Heavy metal / hard rock

The Good
Right off the bat “Now & Forever” comes at you like a sucker-punch to the jaw with crushing riffs and monstrous vocals. The best part of Doug Gibson’s vocals is that they manage to stay melodic despite his deep tones and angry delivery. Guitarist Ed Savoy tears into a solo that would make the rock guitar gods proud. I can’t forget to mention the furious pounding drums of Shane Kellis and the thick bass lines of Craig Lague. The band’s little trademarks dominate throughout the album. An ominous riff leads you into drum heavy verses on “Discarded Soul”. Gibson’s haunting vocals reflect is emotional torture and pain.

“Eulogy” uses watery guitar tones and familiar changes to help lead the track. You’ll probably hear a Godsmack influence in the arrangement. The track starts off mellow but burst into a fury of distortion and rage. Savoy hold back a bit on his solo, but still shows you what he’s got. “Doomsday’s Coming” uses a riff that rivals Accept’s “Balls to the Wall”, but Accept has nothing on the driving power this track delivers. Bullistic adds some well-deserved thunder behind their cover of “Stuck in the Middle”. If it could have been done this way originally, this might very well be the ultimate rock track that everyone looked up to.

“Tired of You” has one of those stinging riffs that will inspire you to take up the guitar. The track barrels along like a runaway freight train. Kellis’ drum skills are put on prominent display during “Good Luck with That”. What respected modern rock band doesn’t have a killer acoustic track? Bullistic sneaks right in there with “Ignorance & Innocence”. There are some great vocal harmonies on the choruses.

The Bad
The fact that you don't have it. And you call yourself a heavy metal fan?!

The Verdict
Honestly, I expected a bunch of unintelligible screaming yahoos when I got this CD (that seesm to be the case with most metal bands these days). Boy was I wrong! Bullistic deliver in-your-face monster riffs with meaty, yet tuneful vocals. If you took the best parts of Pantera, Godsmack, and Anthrax (with John Bush), you’d have Bullistic. It unusual for me to give such a high rating for a debut release, but I’m going to go out on a limb because the Chronicles of Love and Hate is that damn good.

Did You Know?
Bullistic formed in 2001, and were signed to Backstreet Records in 2005.

Rating: out of 5

--George Dionne