Review: Worshipper ‘One Way Trip’

I’m annoyed with myself for how long this review has taken to write. Normally I only get struck by this level of procrastination when confronted with something decidedly mediocre, but I’ll ruin what little suspense there is in reading a review by telling you now that One Way Trip is a seriously good record. I could blame the rigours of work, childcare and modern day living more generally, but the truth is, I’ve been spending far too much time reading old Battletech Recognition Guides. It’s a slippery slope kids, steer well clear of those things.

Anyway, Worshipper are a four-piece from Boston, MA and One Way Trip is their third album. I can’t claim any prior familiarity with them but, given how good this record is, I’d definitely check out their back catalogue if I could ever find the time to do anything.

So, what do they sound like? The auditor in me always likes to critique the press notice, so let’s start with that. I’ll ignore the blurb’s repeated mentions of psychedelia (I’m not feeling it) and instead focus on the bits they got dead right, namely that the band ‘have perfected their grand balancing act between classic hard rock and old school heavy metal’. Even more to the point: ‘Rock and metal are all about the hooks and riffs, and the American quartet serves out those catchy delicacies in more than generous helpings’. I’m a man of simple tastes: riffs and hooks make me happy and I can confirm that the press folk have not misled you.

I’ve been wracking my brains over the months that I’ve meant to be writing this review for a good comparison, and I’ve ended up with Monster Magnet’s Mastermind. They don’t sound massively similar, but both records are clearly heavily grounded in ‘70s rock, although updated with modern production and are more focused on quality tunes than on genre labels. That said, Worshipper definitely have a much stronger dollop of classic ‘70s radio rock and NWOBHM to their sound than Red Bank’s finest.

Opener Heroic Dose is a cracking tune, with a chugging, strutting groove that sounds all the better for the treacle-thick guitar tone. As is the case across the record, John Brookhouse’s vocals are a highlight, spot-on for any heavy rock tune from 1972 or since, that really bring life to the sweet chorus. Keep This is another, um, keeper that would sound perfect blasting out of your Camaro/Ford Capri (depending on which sound of the pond you reside) with its swaggering riff and awesome chorus.

Do you like ‘70s heavy rock? Do you like NWOBHM? Do you like chunky riffs, memorable choruses and sweet guitar solos? Then I’d definitely recommend checking this one out…

Worshipper slow things down over the next two tracks. Windowpane is an epic-sounding slow-burner that builds to a real crescendo. Hell, they even mention crescendo at the crescendo, which earns a sincere tip of the hat from me. I’m less a fan of Only Alive which follows. It’s not terrible by any means, but always seems a bit too long every time I listen to the album and I find my mind wandering to other things.

Things get back on track with, for me, the strongest stretch of the record. First up is Acid Burns, which was the lead single if such a thing can still be said to exist. It packs a solid helping of NWOBHM gallop and, it should probably go without saying by now, has a corking chorus. James Motel is my favourite song off a record loaded with more than its fair share of quality tunes. The verses have a decidedly stoner-flavoured droning groove that switches effortlessly into a big, nay huge, chorus that’s been lodged firmly in my cranium for some considerable time. The Spell is another awesome tune with a distinct grounding in NWOBHM with a breezy ‘70s radio chorus.

Onward, the last song proper (the final track is a seventy-five-second reprise of the main riff from opener Heroic Dose) has all the right ingredients to be one of those epic album closing tracks that round things off in style and it almost succeeds. I can’t quite put my finger on where it falls short, but it just doesn’t quite nail it for me. Still a good tune though.

Anyways, I’ve decided my new thing will be to end my reviews with an annoying series of purely rhetorical questions. Do you like ‘70s heavy rock? Do you like NWOBHM? Do you like chunky riffs, memorable choruses and sweet guitar solos? Then I’d definitely recommend checking this one out if it’s somehow passed you by.

Label: Magnetic Eye Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram

Scribed by: Liam Blanc