Whilst 2020 is a flop in so many ways, you cannot complain about the amount of top drawer thrash that is assaulting our ears! Gareth takes a listen to the latest slab of metal to hit our inbox and reviews the new album from Solitary… no bull!

Wasting no time on pleasantries, Preston 4-piece ‘Solitary’ explode back into prominence with their fourth release “The Truth Behind the Lies”, a brand new 8 track album, produced by the renowned Simon Efemey (Paradise Lost, Napalm Death, and many more), first track ”I Will not Tolerate” enters in like a charging bull, lead guitar snorting, before the intolerant bellow of Rich (Sherrington, Vocals and Rhythm Guitar) cuts in, the band stampeding towards you, clods of earth flying from metaphorical hooves as you helplessly look into their bloodshot eyes.

If you do manage to somehow survive that initial onslaught, the band turn and come on you again with the slower more deliberate “The Dark… The Resilient”, a shuffling muted riff, then the song slowly builds, and the band flexes a bit more of their considerable melodic muscle, and Andy (Mellor, Lead Guitar) unleashes a brilliant solo. Third track “Abominate” picks the speed back up and also the aggression, but then throttles back slightly, prior to the chorus, I love the way the guitars just bludgeon you, before it picks the pace back up for the verse. “Homage to the Broken” ends the first half of the album with a rolling mid-tempo vigour, with a little bit of groove added into the mix.

The title-track is possibly my favourite track, the band pummelling you with riffs and allowing you no time for you to catch your breath, it’s like that figurative bull catches you with a stray horn, and knocks all the wind from you, and then, while you struggle to recover, it gores you, while you’re still writhing on the ground. The hooves continue their deadly trample on “Catharsis”, deliberate clouts leave you reeling, uncompromising sheets of riffing pin you to the floor, proving they don’t need to be going 100mph all the time to be effective.

“Dishonour True Reality” is a standout song, a slow powerful intro with tasteful leads announces you to a galloping behemoth of a track, and suddenly that bull has turned into a chaotic minotaur, and you swiftly realise how Theseus felt in the labyrinth, twisting maze like riffs seemingly come at you from all angles, with the beast, spitting and snarling in pursuit. That feeling of bruising doesn’t subside, as final track “Spawn of Hate” hits you square in the chest, riffs thundering past like a herd of buffalo on a rampage.

“The Truth Behind the Lies” is an important release for the band, and sees them finally get some momentum going, the last 3 or 4 years seem to have been the most productive in the bands twenty five year plus existence, that impetus started with the brilliant third album, 2017’s “The Diseased Heart of Society”, continued with last year’s excellent XXV EP, which saw them re-record a few classic tracks from the first two albums together with a few newer live tracks, now with this stellar new album, let’s hope the band can get some proper recognition from all the years of hard work, already under their belts.

Reviewer – Gareth Pugh

Release Date – 23rd October 2020

pre-order – http://www.solitary.org.uk/shop/

Label – Metalville