Broken Castles – Follow (2022)
With their debut EP Follow, the powerful three-piece Broken Castles not only introduce us to their sound, but they also sweep us away with their riff-led style. Packing the best elements of 90s rock into the flow of pounding drums, they merge classic rock sounds with something that is truly part of the modern age. Forged from the fires of the golden era of rock, they respect their musical roots, while pushing ahead to lay a new path for all of us to follow.
Using a powerful sound that honestly shakes you to the core, the band is firmly staking their claim to our hearts and ears through these tracks. Ben Suttey (vocals), Graham Hulbert (drums) and Dan Gibling (guitar) fuse their musicality to punch you in the chest with their sound. As the opening salvo of this project, they are seriously setting the bar high.
The EP opens with ‘Curse on the Soul’ which slowly rises from the depths of silence. There is a pulse of guitar tones that come at you from both sides before hitting you in the back and sending you tumbling into the infectious beats of the drums. Suttey’s vocals have a dark curl to them that edges into metal and heavy rock territory. The slight roughness to his performance merges perfectly with the push of the instrumentation. This is the perfect opening to their debut EP as it gets you hooked to their pumped sound. The energy of the track has you jumping around like crazy while shouting out with them in the chorus. It is a really addictive track that shakes you up only to drop you into the crash of cymbals and reaching guitar riffs that take you on a far-reaching sonic journey. The shiver of the drums against the pulse of the guitars is fantastic and only made better by the shout of the vocals.
‘Dusk is Forever Dawn’ has a slow-building feeling to the opening like a light that you see in the distance which slowly gets bigger. The progression of the opening draws you in like a moth to the flame, with the guitars pulsing in time to your heartbeat. The distorted tones that weave between the guitars give way for a heavy rock flow that, once again, shakes up your insides. There is a different edge to this track as the vocals curve around the shadows to crook a finger at you and beckon you into the shadowy darkness. There is a touch of something waiting for you in the darkness, but this is sent running by the flow of the guitars. The lyrics have a really great storytelling vibe to them as they pull you into a story of darkness, victory and the slow crawl of the light of dawn. Through this track, you can feel the band’s rock roots shining through while being washed with something that is rather unique to them.
The drums that tumble into life through the opening of ‘Meet at the Underpass’ reach under your feet and make you want to run in time to them. The guitar pushes that feeling of needing to run to another level, before the drums bring an interesting stomp to the sound. Against this, the vocals punch into your brain with a pulsing movement that flows into a more melodic rock flow for the chorus. The rock style of this track hits in a very different way to the others as you want to jump, but there is a feeling of aggression in the undertones. This is definitely the song to play if you want to ensure everyone gets involved in a rocking mosh pit or shout out with the band.
The EP comes to an end with ‘Champions’ that uses a lighter guitar run to grab your attention. While the guitar line is lighter, it is just as infectious as the other tracks, only hooking you in a different way. The vocals lose some of the rough growling quality, but retain that delightful touch of darkness. The guitar-driven melody flows beautifully through the verses to meet the drums on the chorus for a moving arrangement. The vocals twist and turn throughout the track to keep your attention, while leading you further into the tale of the lyrics. Around halfway through the track, there is an overlap of the vocals that brings a really fantastic texture to the song. The almost steady push of the guitars has you moving through the first half of the track, before the drums get a larger part in the second half. All in all, this is a stunning end to the EP as it puts a new spin on the rocking style of the band while remaining true to their core.
Broken Castles sets the bar high with their debut EP Follow which has you rocking out to their sound and shouting with the vocals. Each track retains something that is pure to the band’s sound while curling around a splash of familiar rock tones. The rough growl of the vocals scratches up your spine as the guitar and drums shake you up from the inside.
Find out more about Broken Castles on their Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Spotify.
