I’ve been back and forth for a while now with Forked Tongues, the second full-length offering from Oxford, UK, heavy rock outfit Desert Storm. The nine-song album runs through a host of American styles, mostly related to Southern metal and the conventions thereof, but ultimately comes across confused as to where it wants to be stylistically. Desert Storm, a double-guitar, single-vocal five-piece in the metal tradition, seem to have one foot in the riffy metal of Down and Black Label Society, and another in the groovy blues-based licks of Clutch, but there’s little to discern from Forked Tongues (which is released on the band’s own Buried in Smoke Records and follows a 2008 self-titled) that belongs to Desert Storm alone, and especially in the area of Matt Ryan’s vocals, there’s just too much coming down on the side of affectation to really be believable at this point in their career. The songs, mostly led by guitarists Chris White (lead) and Ryan Cole (rhythm), are well-constructed, but they’re constructed of material so familiar that, with a few exceptions, it’s hard for the tracks on Forked Tongues to hold my attention.

Those exceptions come mostly in the form of middle cuts “Smokes ‘n’ Liquor” and “The Jackal,” which, although straightforward in structure and not really innovative stylistically (which, as I’ve said before, isn’t necessarily a requirement for well done heavy rock), belong mostly to Desert Storm. “The Jackal” especially is a catchy, nod-worthy piece with an arrangement vocally that is unmatched throughout the rest of Forked Tongues. But to get to that point, one has first to wade through the rough opening trio of “Cosmic Drips,” “Ol’ Town” and “South We Roll.” “Cosmic Drips,” in its immediate impression, is about as close to Earthride as I’ve heard anyone come. That’s offset as the song progresses by a Down II vibe and the guest soul backing vocals of Lauren Hayes, who also appears on “Ol’ Town.” Ryan changes his vocals from “whiskey-soaked” to cleaner for the choruses, and I find the second to be a far more natural fit for both his voice and the song. As much as that song is drenched in swampy bayou waters, “Ol’ Town” follows the Clutch start-stop formula in the guitars – Elliot Cole on drums and Chris Benoist on bass doing their damnedest to keep things interesting in the rhythm section – and Ryan follows suit on vocals, channeling Neil Fallon’s throaty semi-spoken delivery à la Pure Rock Fury. With “South We Roll,” there’s a surprisingly metal turn, the guitar tones becoming heavier in the traditional sense and the drum sounds switching from the more natural sound of the first two songs to a more canned feel. Ryan growls over chugging riffs, and for the first time on Forked Tongues, but not the last, I begin to wonder what exactly Desert Storm are shooting for in terms of aesthetic. White pulls out a good solo following a breakdown and bridge, with Ryan repeating the chorus overhead, and there’s no shortage of action, but none of it is especially engaging.

Even “Smokes ‘n’ Liquor,” which keeps the same tones and unfortunate snare sound as “South We Roll,” does better with them. Of course, this lyrical ground has been covered before, but Desert Storm make the song more their own and I think with a more live-sounding production, the song would come across even better than it does. The aforementioned “The Jackal” finds Ryan again changing from growls to clean vocals in the chorus – and kudos to him for being able to affect the changes in style he does throughout Forked Tongues – but the upbeat pacing is more suited to Desert Storm as a whole, and “The Jackal” feels less put-on in general than the rest of the tracks, perhaps most of all the title cut that follows it, with its whispered intro, religiously-critical lyric, and forced-feeling metalcore breakdown at 4:13. The quiet/loud, ‘90s nü-metal introspection of “The Void” offers little respite, seeming to be in a hurry to get to the chorus while Ryan repeats the line “I rot as you root” twice (clean singing into growled chorus), just in case you didn’t get it the first time. I don’t doubt the sincerity of the emotion driving his performance, or anyone in the band’s really, but when the song cuts to a quiet instrumental ending led by Benoist, I’m not sorry to see it go.

Closing duo “Connected” and “Pocketwatch” offer more than vague reminiscences of Sabbath’s “Planet Caravan” and Clutch’s “The Great Outdoors” (move it on over and gimme a slice!), respectively, and though their hearts are obviously in the right place and they clearly put a lot of thought, work and effort into their arrangements, the only conclusion I can draw from Forked Tongues is that if Desert Storm want to get to a point where they have something unique and exciting to offer listeners, they’ve got a lot of work ahead of them. Perhaps most importantly, it seems the band just needs to relax into a creative space where they can be themselves in the writing and gain some authorial control over their influences, as opposed to being subject to them as they are here. I’m glad to see the band put a real focus on playing live over the next few months, because if that kind of growth is going to take place, it’s most certainly going to do so on stage, and hopefully they can take what they learn in that environment and translate it into the songwriting. I’ve seen Oxford, and I’ve seen North Carolina. They look nothing like each other. If Desert Storm can manage to hone a little closer in on who they are as artists and what they really want to say as a unit, I think they’ll find that next time around they’ll come out with a product that reflects that. Easier said than done, I know (believe me, I know), but worth the effort in the end.

Desert Storm on ReverbNation

Desert Storm on MySpace

Tags: Buried in Smoke Records, Desert Storm, Oxford, UK

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011 at 6:23 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.