Review: Foot ‘The Balance Of Nature Shifted’
Australia are certainly pumping out some exciting riff driven hard rock bands these days, from the noisy driving Hotel Wrecking City Traders through to The Black Armada and Full Tone Generator, the Australian land mass is getting a solid number of great bands down under and an exciting raw scene.
Newest to this list of down under down tuners is Foot from Melbourne, whose PR wire quotes Alice In Chains and Queens Of The Stone Age as references, but digging deeper into the music this is a far darker, and riff driven fuzz affair, appealing to fans of Fu Manchu and Truckfighters. However, unlike the sunshine soaked aforementioned, this has darker tones and undercurrents which reminds me more of Mans Ruin one timers Disengage, and legendary post hardcore bands such as Dragpipe and Errortype:11. You could even go as far as saying that this band are the Australian equivalent of Texas Is The Reason.
Being the third release in their discography this could arguably be considered their magnum opus. That said, with the backing of Copper Feast Records and an array of awesome bands in their Melbourne homeland, this could well be just a current career zenith. The band hold so much promise and have developed somewhat of a unique flavouring.
Highlight track Green Embers really positions the band with the weight of the riff moving into new age Alice In Chains melodic delivery…
The biggest step is the blend of more riff driven post hardcore vibes with a laid back desert delivery but critically – encapsulated with Alice In Chains overtones. Only the debut album form Luna Sol, via the mighty Dave Augstrom, have really managed this with any notable worth and Foot could well be kicking in an open door with this.
One thing that really shines through is their wider ethic. In a world of a thousand weed worshipping sludge doom bands all praising Satan with stories of raging bong rituals, it’s nice to hear a band with a clear conscience actually pushing and portraying what is happening around us, as the subject matter in the lyrics really pulls through with some sentiment. The clear vocal delivery of Paul Holden really help with that. E-Sports being a fantastic example of his vocal style – putting Daniel Johns and Tame Impala to shame. Highlight track Green Embers really positions the band with the weight of the riff moving into new age Alice In Chains melodic delivery.
The first half of The Balance Of Nature Shifted captures their heavier, more wrought sound, while closing track High brings a more chilled, and somewhat comparatively mellow, second half of the album to a close with an almost mythical quality, and a divine rocking crescendo of riff worship at the end. Maybe the ‘High’ point could be an indication of where Foot are travelling to next? If so, then sign me up for album number 4!
Foot have firmly put their best appendage forward and are working toward an exciting blend of solid riff based hard alternative stoner rock. Solid.
Label: Cooper Feast Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Scribed by: Francisco Javier
