SONJA - Loud Arriver CD

Absolute killer album.

Sonja seems to really get what heavy metal’s all about – take-no-prisoners, no fucks given, loud and proud rocking out. Of course there’s other things it can be, but this really does hit on a big part of why this genre was so appealing to me. This is brassy, triumphant trad metal in the general old 80s mode that doesn’t really seem to be aping anybody. It’s often hard to really nail a trad metal sound in this day and age because of the meat-and-potatoes nature of it. Too far in any experimental direction and you become something other than old school heavy metal, but many bands seem to have no real new ideas at all. But Sonja finds the line.

The songs get to the point, but there’s always a bit of idiosyncrasy to them. Moore’s guitar style, while familiar enough from a distance, packs in some odd bridges and new kinds of riffing worked in subtly - there's a kind of angular, unfriendly twist to this stuff that makes it sound harder and more badass than the norm. There’s just a sense that you haven’t heard this stuff before. The guitar tone is in your face, a hammering force of a sound, and the rhythm section is unfussy and just rocks the fuck out. Tracks like “Pink Fog” and “Daughter of the Morning Star” hook you in with strong, forceful riffing and structures that feel fresh and fun because they aren’t just tethered to old tropes. Others like opener “When the Candle Burns Low” or the title track feel more expansive, with some mellow parts adding flavor and dynamic.