Written
by Frank McClure, posted by blog admin
Minneapolis
guitar rock titan Thomas Abban may only be 21 years old but his first record A Sheik’s Legacy rings of a grizzled,
hardened legend of the stage and studio.
This 15 song shambling beast of a debut feels like an album from a man
AT LEAST twice Abban’s young age. The
enigmatic rock n’ roller of Welsh/Ghanian heritage also paints his face with
strange symbols around his eyes and on his arms for performances and his music
also possesses a wild, alien quality that is a wonderful yet rewarding
challenge for reviewers, concert goers and listeners alike.
“Death
Song” comes off like a musical suite; several distinct passages are incredibly
lush as they unfold in a storm of orchestral themed, multi-layered guitars parts
from acoustic to electric, jazzy strutting bass lines, wild African vocal
screams and chants, Abban’s breathtaking falsetto melodies, tom-tom leaned drum
patterns that are gloriously wild and untamed…all wrapped up in a total package
by the magical, darkness-charged lyrics.
By the time the song is over, you feel like you’ve listened to an entire
album. There are that many peaks and
valleys in “Death Song.” “Symmetry &
Black Tar” further ascends the lofty ambition of the opening track by expanding
on the same theme but consistently ratcheting up the tempos of the acoustic
guitars while rifling off some deadly lead guitar sizzle played at a mountainous
volume. Abban’s vocal range empowers the
ears and soul as he goes from trembling lower notes to sky high shrieks, as
unusual facets like clavinets add a Spanish feel and classical strings whip up
some truly provocative texture washes.
A
4 second piano intro morphs into a hammering, arena destroying guitar riff
during “Fear’s” no b.s., hard-rock assault.
Proto-metal progenitors like Led Zeppelin, Free, a fledgling Judas
Priest and Bloodrock all made legendary albums completely culled from a
similarly tattered, warts n’ all approach derived from the blues. Thomas also has the danger in his voice to
dive headlong into such material; he shows it in spades here and carries it
over into the immediately following, gluey grooves of “Aladdin.” The lyrical content switches to grand Arabian
fantasy while the preceding “Fear” came from what seemed to be a very personal
experience. Just like the music, Abban’s
wordplay and vocal delivery are constantly fluxing in a way that just cements
your attention span to the stereo speakers.
For more big riffs, the shack shakin’ earthquake of “Uh” and the late
game power-blues climax of “Black Water” practically declares Thomas Abban as a
new age proprietor of the groove alongside names like Jimmy Page, Joe
Bonamassa, Tommy Bolin and Steve Gould.
You even get a lead-loaded, spacey, up-tempo freak out as the acidic
“Born of Fire” is no stranger to blasting volumes.
Then
just when you least expect it, Thomas will anchor the album’s mood to a totally
different aura altogether. There are
largely acoustic numbers that meld folk-inspired harmonies to gritty blues or
southern-fried country grace. These
traits appear in all sorts of mix n’ match road swerves on husky, dusky tunes
like “Don’t You Stay the Same,” “Let Me Tell You Something,” “Lord” and the
swift, harder-charging “Echo.” Then these schematics will disassemble some
of their darker qualities into bewildering, bewitching tenderness during
“Horizons,” “Sinner” and “Irene’s” triumphant, heartfelt melodies where Thomas’
voice shows just how soft, subtle and contemplative it can get.
A Sheik’s Legacy is nothing more
than a triumph of breaking down genre walls.
Rock n’ roll is one of the biggest features but there is so much going
on here that it’s impossible to truly nail down Abban’s sound. This is a one of a kind record that no
serious music fan should miss.
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