Maverick – Etherality
Album review by; Rock Queen Thirteen
Maverick – a five piece hard rock band from Belfast – released ‘Ethereality’ on 01.04.21 and with three cracking singles already out, it’s safe to say this album was extremely highly anticipated! The band comprises of Dave Balfour (vocals) Ryan Sebastian Balfour (lead guitar) Ric Cardwell (lead guitar) Richie Diver (bass) and Jason Steve Mageney (drums). Having been around since 2012 and with a wealth of recording and touring under their belts, they refer to ‘Ethereality’ as being the band’s defining album. And it is easy to see why – whilst their earlier material is pure rock n’ roll excellence this album demonstrates a polished maturity, talent and experience paying off in dividends with every track.
The album kicks off with the mighty ‘Falling’ – power vocals, power chords, a deep bassline and some kick ass drums. In short, this is stadium rock at its best – high voltage, explosive and impassioned. It’s packed with energy and intensity, and this continues into ‘Thirst’, ‘Never’, and ‘Switchblade Sister’, equally as well designed, making use of tried and tested rock n’ roll formulae whilst adding that unique Maverick shine. It’s songs like these that remind you why you fell in love with rock music in the first place.
Track five, ‘Bells Of Stygian’, stands out a bit for me in that it takes a more thoughtful tone and it has a killer guitar solo that would give you goosebumps. A couple of interesting changes in tempo add flair and really illuminate the song. ‘Angels’ takes us back up to the anthem feels, before things slow down a little with ‘The Last One’ – a beautifully written, straight-from-the-heart number.
‘Dying Star’ and ‘Light Behind Your Eyes’ recapture that classic formula again, there is depth, texture and those engrossing hooks and vocals that by now are becoming Maverick’s signature sound. Not that this takes anything away from the forcible bass and drums, everything compliments each other perfectly.
The final track, ‘Ares’ again stands out for me, it paints a creative picture with its enigmatic lyrics and foreboding style, another musical direction that demonstrates the versatile side of the band.
I have to say, there isn’t a weak track on this album, and I’m thoroughly impressed with what Maverick can do. You can put it in the ‘Classic Rock’ genre, yet it manages to dispense with any of the usual cliches you’d associate with that. It’s well produced, lyrically intelligent and has mass appeal. Every musician showcases what they can do best, and I cannot find a flaw in any of it. Heavy rhythms, full bodied sound and enough swagger and punch to make any rock fan worth their salt sit up and take notice.
The next thing is getting to see them live... Maverick are doing a double headline tour with Black Diamonds in September this year, but nowhere near the UK sadly. An album tour to celebrate this awesome piece of work would be a really cool idea, as it’s the kind of music that you need to hear live, from a big stage to a bunch of dedicated fans. A lot of happy faces there would be in in that crowd.
RQ13