  
Virgil and the accelerators are a three-piece blues rock band who in the five years since they formed have been earning an excellent reputation, with their first album "The Radium" getting great reviews, and their live shows in particular earning them rave reviews. Now they're set to release their second studio album, Army of three. Like the first it's been produced by Chris Tsangarides, a man with a pretty impressive CV (Gary Moore, Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath....)
So what can you expect from the album? Well it's blues-rock and lies more at the rock end of the spectrum, so is "more rock with a bit of blues" than "blues with a hint of rock". One bit that stands out as you listen is the guitar playing - Virgil is one hell of a good guitar player. The bass, drums and vocals are good too - but it's still the guitar that demands the most attention.
I have to be say that while I do like this album I can't help feeling slightly disappointed from it. This is a band that I've heard nothing but good reports about from friends who have seen them live, and it is a very good album, but it just seems to be lacking that bit of magic that's needed to turn it into a great album. Perhaps they've suffered from unfortunate timing - in the last few weeks I've been listening to some stunningly good new albums, so if this album had come before them then maybe I wouldn't have compared them and found this one wanting. Whatever the reason I just think that this album is good, very good in fact, but just not quite as good as some of the other albums that are being released around the same time. While it may seem slightly harsh judging the album compared to other new releases, I do think it's reflective of real life - when payday comes, I only have a limited amount of cash to spend on CDs, so I want the best albums possible so would probably opt for albums by Philip Sayce, Danny Bryant or Joe Bonamassa rather than this album, but I'd still keep this album on my list of albums to buy when money permits as it's too good to just ignore.
Perhaps they are one of those bands that just sound much better live than they do on an album - hopefully I'll get chance to see them live before too long to hear for myself.
"Army of three" will be released on 6th October 2014
Rating: 4/5
Track listing:
1. Take me higher
2. Blow to the head
3. All night long
4. Love aggression
5. Give it up
6. Through the night
7. It burns
8. Stand up
9. Anymore
10. Free |
