‘With A Bang’ Is A Mostly Successful Debut For Speed Queen

By: Philip Sayblack
​So close but so far away.  The end of this old year is so close but still just that far away.  It is just far away enough that there is still time to go through some more new music released this year.  To that end, in this case, this critic is taking a look at the debut album from up-and-coming rock act Speed Queen, With a Bang.  Released early this past September through High Roller Records, this 10-song album is an interesting first full-length outing from the band.  That is proven in no small part through its musical arrangements.  The lyrical themes that accompany the noted musical material makes for its own interest and will be examined a little later.  The record’s production puts the finishing touch to the whole and will also be examined later.  Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of With a Bang.  All things considered they make this 42-minute record a presentation worth hearing at least once.
With a Bang, the recently released debut album from Speed Queen, is a presentation that metal purists will find well worth hearing at least once.  That is due in large part to the musical arrangements featured throughout the album.  Much like their counterparts in the so-called New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal,” which include the likes of Kryptos, Dagger, and Leather Heart, the band presents arrangements that throw back to the golden age of metal and hard rock.  Influences of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and even early Metallica are obvious throughout the course of the record what with the intense up-tempo guitar riffs, powerful vocals, and driving rhythms.  Audiences could even make comparison to early works from Megadeth and Anthrax throughout the album’s arrangements.  Even with that in mind, the arrangements still manage to maintain their own identity, to their credit.  To that end, the arrangements give metal purists at least some reason to take in this record.
While the musical arrangements featured throughout this album form a powerful base for the record, they are just part of what makes the presentation of note.  The lyrical themes that accompany the musical arrangements make for their own interest.  From celebrating rock and the rock lifestyle to dealing with personal relationships, to mental health, the themes featured throughout the record are fully familiar and accessible.  The album’s opener, ‘Showdown’ is a key example of that theme of celebrating the rock lifestyle.  This is proven as front man Thomas Kenis sings, “Light the lights/It’s showtime tonight/Brace yourself/Prepare for a fight/Bang your head/Scream as loud as you can/Raising hell/Let the madness begin/Legions in leather/Hellions to gather/United and unstoppable/No one will own us/And nothing will rule us/Adrenaline comes to the boil/Showdown tonight/The boys are back/With fire in their eyes/Shootout/That’s right/You can’t run/You can’t hide.”  This is a clear celebration of rock and metal that has been done so many times before by other bands, but is still as fist-pump encouraging as ever even in this case.  The rest of the song continues in similar fashion, with Kenis mentioning turning up the volume and the “heavy metal storm about to unfold.”  Again, here is that celebration of rock that is sure to put a smile on any metal purist’s face.  Simply put, this is just one example of the importance of the album’s lyrical themes.
Another noteworthy lyrical theme presented in this album comes in ‘The World Ends Tonight.’  One of the entries in the album’s second half, this song comes across as that familiar examination of a personal relationship struggle.  This as Kenis sings, “I tear off the mask/Spit out the trash/I made it through the day/Had to live through night/On to the dawn/Did you have something to say/You bark/I BITE/I’m down for a fight/Only one will survive/The world ends tonight/You weren’t used to being alone/Yet you didn’t want me at home/Now you’re stuck with nowhere to run/You are on your own/You hide/AND FIGHT/It eats you alive/From the inside out/Your world ends tonight/That house is no home/You’re trapped in a hole.”  What is so interesting here is that this does not necessarily have to relate to romantic relationship gone sour.  It could just as easily be a story of a person getting out of a toxic household situation.  Children grow up, realize their relationships with their parents was always toxic and finally decide to leave.  It could just as easily help people who have gone through this situation.  Keeping that in mind, that accessibility, that reach, makes this another strong entry to the album in regard to the lyrical themes.
Yet one more example of the strength of the album’s lyrical content comes in the form of ‘I Want It.’  This song, which comes early in the album’s run, comes across as that familiar statement of defiance, of finding one’s personal identity.  This is inferred as Kenis sings in the song’s lead verse and chorus, “All I know/Is that I want it all/I can feel it inside/From head to toe/’Cause the time is right/And I want it now/I’ll warp my hands around it anyhow/I feel it calling out for me/Hold on to something you believe/You know it’s calling out for you/Screaming for more/You want it, too/I want it/I need it/I’ll make it mine/This feeling/Can’t stop it/Sends shivers down my spine.”  He expands on this theme in the second verse, singing, “I woke up one day/Unsatisfied/There is so much more/That my heart desires/I keep taking more/Until I have it all/No compromise/I’ll take what is mine/No one will ever push me ‘round/No grave can hold my body down/Nothing will make me back away/The entire world belongs to me.”  That determination, that sense of refusing to give up is that drive to be one’s own person; to have that identity and success in life.  It is delivered in a straightforward, accessible fashion, leading to plenty of appreciation for the message here, too.  When this message is considered along the other lyrical themes discussed here and that group along with the rest of the album’s lyrical content, the whole therein gives audiences reason in itself to take in this record.
Putting the final touch to the album’s presentation is its production.  This is where things get a little bit interesting.  Throughout the course of the album’s first half, the band wastes very little time between songs, going immediately from one to the next.  On the surface, this is a good thing because it keeps the album’s energy moving.  At the same time, it can also lead audiences feeling overwhelmed because in general listeners need a moment to come down from such energy.  The band takes the exact opposite approach to the album’s second half.  From the end of ‘Chasing Ghosts’ – the album’s midpoint – on, each transition in the second half actually gives listeners a moment to relax before the next song starts.  Had the song transitions, as they pertain to the production, been more widespread, it would have definitely helped the overall presentation herein, not only as it pertains to production but the overall general presentation.  Keeping all of this in mind, the production herein is both positive and negative, so it helps the album at least somewhat.  To that end, the production works with the album’s overall content to make the listening experience worth it and the album worth hearing at least once.
With a Bang, the debut full-length studio recording from Speed Queen, is an interesting first outing for the up-and-coming New Wave of Traditional Metal outfit.  That is proven in part through the record’s musical arrangements.  The arrangements will easily appeal to fans of the bands that clearly influenced Speed Queen and their contemporaries.  That includes veteran acts, such as Metallica, Megadeth, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden.  The lyrical themes that accompany the album’s musical arrangements add to the interest because of their familiarity and accessibility.  They include the familiar themes of personal relationship struggles, personal struggles, and of course celebrating rock and the rock lifestyle, and are presented in a fashion that makes it easy for audiences to identify said themes.  The record’s production puts the finishing touch to the whole.  It is actually both a positive and negative aspect of the record, as maybe the songs should have been sequenced differently.  Each item examined is important in its own way to the whole of this album.  All things considered they make With a Bang a mostly successful debut for Speed Queen.
With a Bang is available now through High Roller Records.  More information on the album is available along with all of Speed Queen’s latest news at  https://facebook.com/speedqueenofficial.