Adelaide metallers Headbore offer a solid slab of metal on their debut album Strength In Numbers. Clearly written with the likes of DevilDriver, Chimaira and Shadows Fall in mind, this is an album that delivers exactly what it promises, modern metal with some balls.
Don’t expect to find much else here other than the no-nonsense metal that is promised though. The album is littered with roaring vocals, the occasional blast beat, straight forward headbanging riffs, a splash of the signature DevilDriver groove and a few layered vocals with some clean guitar interludes to break up the album. Headbore aren’t attempting to push any sort of boundaries here.
The predictability of Strength In Numbers is actually what gives Headbore their charm, they don’t pretend to be anything other than what they are, a metal band with all the boxes ticked. With tracks like “Sacrifice” which throws the groove straight in your face its easy to see why. The riff in “Temptress” at 2:50 has Chimaira written all over it and is probably the highlight metal riff of the album.
Strength In Numbers is a very well produced album and easily holds up to the squeaky clean standards of their influences. Jens Bogren (Opeth, Soilwork, Devin Townsend Project) mastered the album while recording took place at Against The Grain Studio in South Australia, so it’s not hard to see why it sounds so great.
If you think you’re in need of some pure no-nonsense Australian metal, then Strength In Numbers is the album for you.
