ALBUM REVIEW - AVALANCHE – ARMED TO THE TEETH
- Rick E
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
WORDS RICK E
AVALANCHE
ARMED TO THE TEETH
Now and again a debut album lands on your desk that makes you sit up, turn the volume up another three notches, and wonder quite where this lot have been hiding. Armed to the Teeth, the long-awaited first full-length from Sydney's Avalanche, is very much one of those records.
Armed to the Teeth has been given a production that is absolutely tailor-made for what Avalanche are trying to achieve. It hits with raw grit, it's got genuine swagger, and yet it has got a power and a clarity that means every riff, every chorus, and every drum fill lands exactly the way it should. That is not an easy balance to strike, and Steve James and Avalanche have nailed it.
Comparisons to AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, and The Angels are entirely warranted, and those are comparisons that Rolling Stone Australia have already made – but what strikes me is that Avalanche never feel like a tribute act or a pale imitation of those giants. They wear those influences like a badge of honour while still sounding distinctly and unmistakably themselves. There is a real personality to this band, a real sense of fun and danger and attitude, and that personality comes through on every single track on this record.
Armed to the Teeth, the title track, opens the album and what an opener it is – an absolute monster of a track. Running in at just over five minutes, it's the longest track on the record and it earns every single second. This is stadium rock and roll of the highest order – the kind of song that makes you want to raise a glass and shout along from the very first listen. The riff is enormous, the chorus is the sort that gets lodged in your skull for days, and the energy never once lets up. If this does not go down an absolute storm on tour with Airbourne then I will eat my hat.
Down for the Count keeps the momentum going without missing a beat. There's a real groove to this one, a swagger in the rhythm section that gives the track a slightly different flavour to what has come before it. It's a reminder that Avalanche aren't just a one-trick pony – they've got range, and they know how to use it without ever straying too far from the pub rock DNA that sits at the heart of everything they do.
Going for Broke is the shortest track on the album at just under two minutes, and it is a blast of pure adrenaline – no frills, no fuss, just two minutes of absolute chaos that somehow manages to feel completely essential rather than throwaway. It's the kind of track that reminds you rock and roll doesn't need to be complicated to be brilliant.
Dad, I Joined a Rock N' Roll Band is a personal favourite and one I suspect will become a live staple for years to come. There is a self-aware humour to it that is enormously endearing, but underneath the wink-and-a-nudge quality of the lyrics there's a genuinely great rock and roll song doing exactly what it should. It's the sort of track that bands write when they actually love the music they're making, and that love comes through in every bar of it.
The Hand That Feeds brings a slightly harder edge to proceedings. The riff here is a little more menacing, a little more muscular, and the track has a real coiled tension to it that gives it a different feel from some of the more overtly anthemic moments on the record. It is a side of Avalanche that is well worth getting acquainted with, because it shows there's genuine depth to what they are doing.
Ride or Die is an absolute belter. There are moments on this record where you can feel the sweat and the sawdust of a packed pub in your face, and this is one of them. It's exactly the sort of track that makes live audiences go berserk, and I have no doubt whatsoever that it's doing exactly that every night on the Airbourne tour. Brilliant.
Open to Retaliation rolls in with a bruising confidence that suits the title perfectly. There is something almost pugilistic about the way this track moves – it plants its feet, squares its shoulders, and dares you to look away. You won't. The guitar work here is particularly impressive, and the rhythm section lock in beautifully to give the whole thing a real sense of weight and purpose.
Blondie is a curveball of sorts – slightly more melodic, slightly more accessible, with a chorus that is impossibly catchy in the best possible way. In a lesser album this might feel like a concession to a more mainstream crowd, but in the context of Armed to the Teeth it works beautifully as a change of pace that stops the record from ever feeling one-dimensional.
Kick Your Heels Back is another short, sharp shock of a track – barely over two minutes and absolutely relentless from start to finish. There is a joyful abandon to it that is completely infectious, and it does a wonderful job of keeping the energy of the second half of the album at a level that matches everything that came before it.
Hell's Getting Hotter with You is one of those tracks where everything just clicks. The groove is undeniable, the hook is lethal, and the whole thing has a real heat to it – a kind of simmering intensity that makes it one of the standout moments on the entire record. If there is a song on here that is going to take Avalanche beyond their existing fanbase and into a much wider conversation, this might just be it.
Bottle of Sin closes the standard album out in riotous fashion. It is a fitting finale – loud, unruly, gloriously over-the-top in all the right ways, and certain about what it is and what it wants to be. Avalanche go out swinging, and they land the punch clean. It's the kind of closing track that makes you want to go straight back to track one and start the whole thing again.
Avalanche have arrived fully formed, fully loaded, and ready for the world. They have made a record that would make their heroes proud, but more importantly they have made a record that is entirely and unmistakably their own – full of personality, full of energy, and full of songs that deserve to be heard by as many people as possible.
4/5
ARMED TO THE TEETH – FULL TRACK LIST
1. Armed To The Teeth
2. Down For The Counr
3. Going For Broke
4. Dad, I Joined A Rock N’ Roll Band
5. The Hand That Feeds
6. Ride Or Die
7. Open To Retaliation
8. Blondie
9. Kick Yor Heels Back
10. Hell’s Getting Hotter With You
11. Bottle Of Sin
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