Aviator Shades

More metal for a change.. Maynooth based Aviator Shades, although still unsigned it seems, have been one of the more talked about metal bands in Ireland of late, and are certainly amongst the best of them emerging here. They've put their EP from last year up on their myspace page free to download.

Doin' Alright, the standout track on that EP has an incredibly catchy metal riff to it, and although not amongst their influences, the vocals remind me quite a bit of Ian Astbury from The Cult. All around, this one is quite an excellent track. As for influences, you'll hear some a lot clearer in the rest of their material. Eye Of The Storm sounds particularly influenced by early-mid Metallica, with an intro reminiscent of For Whom The Bell Tolls, and once the track launches into its stride it isn't a million miles from Harvester Of Sorrow in terms of style. Slice Of The Pie is perhaps a bit closer to early metal such as Black Sabbath, where they go for a classic twin lead sound, while a rather fine power ballad is also to be found in Other Side Of Heaven, which sounds all the more appealing in the more casual setting of a live video broadcast, also on their myspace page. Built around lyrics such as 'ill wait for you like the roses for rain, and i just can't fight this pain' it's clear they've taken inspiration from Poison's Every Rose, as so many others have done before, and more than a touch clichéd at this stage - but why not, it was and still is the definitive power-rock ballad. However, I still have to cringe at a Bryan Adams influence also to be heard running through this Aviator Shades track. All in all though, there's a lot more good than bad in Aviator Shades, clear even from the perspective of someone who has been sick to the back teeth of 80's power-rock bands and those inspired by them for a very long time, with just the odd exception. Aviator Shades are a band that take influence from a wide berth of 80s power rock, metal and some older generation metal, a berth which shows they know their genre well, and know how to craft an impressive marksmanship into material which has and will continue to win them admirers. I expect we'll hear a lot more to come from these guys as they begin to look further afield than Dublin now, having already played many top venues there.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/rawnovember

http://www.aviatorshades.net