Opium Symphony –Blame It On The Radio
2012, Man Or Machine RecordsDallas – Fort Worth rockers Opium Symphony may be one of themost frenetically non-compliant bands you’ll come across in 2012. Covering a sonic gamut between The GinBlossoms and a combination of Rush and The Ramones, Opium Symphony is capableof melting your face with their high energy guitars and frenetic drum work, butcan also inspire you to dance with their hook-filled pop songs. Opium Symphony’s latest album is entitled Blame It On The Radio, a mea culpa ofsorts for Opium Symphony’s unabashed rock style.
Opium Symphony kicks things over to the red right out of thegate with the dervish-like guitar work and frenetic drumming of “DeadRadio”. These tendencies are presentthroughout Blame It On The Radio inthe heavier material. “Pretty RichBeautiful” shows off an over-worked drummer and an interesting punk/prog mixthat’s equal parts Rush and The Ramones. The sound and energy here are huge as Opium Symphony opens up a can of sonicassault without losing sight of melody or composition. “They’ve Got Guns” offers an interestingfaint toward lyric, singer/songwriter chanting before bringing in guitars andclearing the air a bit. Thisblues-inspired prog rocker is an intriguing listen in spite of the overgrownsound links. “Down The Rabbit Hole” ismore of a sonic roller coaster ride than anything else, with Opium Symphonysounding more than a bit like 1990’s alternative rockers The Men.“Unknown” is an interesting step both musically andtechnically. Opium Symphony stripsthings down in pursuit of a more polished sound alongside greater compositionalleg room. The result is musicallyinteresting, invoking both prog and pop tendencies. “Jukebox Junkie” keeps the stripped down stylewithout sacrificing an ounce of rocker intensity. This is a great listen that will have yourfeet moving. “Soul For Sale” tries tocreate a disturbed ambience through the use of heavy tremolo on the guitarparts. The result is messy and warped,and ventures into the territory of an almost self-referential cliché.
“Like Pennies You Had Me Wishing In The End” finds OpiumSymphony venturing into ethereal, atmospheric rock. This is yet another stylistic branch on thetree that is Opium Symphony, and it becomes increasingly apparent that there islittle that the band cannot do well when it ventures the effort. “Blame It On The Radio” has the potential tobe an incredibly catchy pop/rock number. The presentation here doesn’t entirely jell, but all the seeds of a bighit are here. A little advancedproduction on this number is all the polish this needs. “In This Together” has the seeds and thepolish. This is by far the catchiest,most exciting track on the album. Goodluck getting it out of your head. OpiumSymphony comes in for a soft landing with “Gospel” and “Return Of The Ghost”,solid tracks both seeming anti-climactic in the wake of “In ThisTogether”. Opium Symphony delivers the goods on Blame It On The Radio, one of the more adventurous and wide-rangingrock albums to cross my desk this year. This creative spread does create some issues for the band at times, andnot every vision comes off clearly, but Opium Symphony shows great potential tobring new meaning to the phrase “post-genre”.
Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)Learn more at www.opiumsymphony.com.
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