Sleigh Bells are a pair currently enjoying a relatively speedy rise to the heights of popularity against their competitors in the class of 2012. It was only in 2008 that vocalist Alexis Krauss and guitarist Derek E. Miller first met in the Brooklyn N.Y. music scene after releasing an EP to mixed reactions but securing a deal with M.I.A.’s N.E.E.T. Records. But this debut has landed them in a powerful position with the ball still in their court for the rest of the year.
From hearing the epic stadium sized guitars on this record it comes as much less of a surprise to hear that Miller once took axe wielding duties in a hardcore punk band like the now deceased Poison the Well, who once had admirers in high places like the lads from Gallows. But Sleigh Bells can actually be neatly summed up with references to Metallica or Justice, the French dance duo who spawned the fantastically produced 'Master of Puppets' remix. Anyone who has heard that remix will be thinking big compressed drum beats, raw guitar riffs and head banging galore, and in a more refined way, and with a helping of pop sensibility and melody this is what Reign of Terror brings by the truck load.
From what you can hear in the first minute of this album, Sleigh Bells wanted to write an album that hit hard, sounded big and ambitious and would go great in a live setting. Krauss’s vocals ring out like a call to arms to the sounds of crowds cheering and whistling to them stepping up to the stage, quite a statement of intent. Her accent and voice may remind you of a cheer leader at first but she brings an appearance of the gothic dominance in a front woman like Alice Glass of Crystal Castles, but with the feisty authority of Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth, or a more rock n’ roll savvy Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
After a few initial listens, the record perhaps sounds a tad top loaded with the most formidable and pummeling of beats and riffs appearing on the first few tracks: 'True Shred Guitar', 'Born to Lose', 'Crush' and the explosive single 'Comeback Kid'. However the albums’ intended gentle progression towards melody and delicacy becomes evident later on with numbers like the fantastically catchy 'Road to Hell' or 'Never Say Die' ushering in some mercy from the onslaught but still packing a punch.
If it wasn’t for the quite feminine sassiness of Alexis’s vocals, the larger than life modern production and a lack of lyrical preoccupation for sex, this album could easily have been labeled a hair metal record had it been released 30 years ago. It’s a simple but unique take on a recent trend of bridging the gap between dance and rock, and Sleigh Bells are going about it with thunderous Pendulumy drum sounds, acute synth effects and riffs so raw they make Megadeth sound soft. It’s a very simple musical recipe with few ingredients, but that complement each other brilliantly. Somehow just the two of them manage to sound as big as a band with three times as many members. Critics have been referring to Sleigh Bells’ style as “noise pop” but you could sell this album to a Kiss fan as easily as you could to a hipster or casual NME reader while just calling it alternative rock.
Overall though you can’t help but get the feeling that this is a band that need to be seen and heard from the sweaty depths of the most pit amongst dizzying strobes before you can pass a full judgment. Until you get that opportunity though, this debut offering should provide plenty to keep you interested. It’s a little on the short side but solid enough to probably land it in a list for the top 20 debuts of the year. They will indubitably be hot property at the festivals this year.
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From hearing the epic stadium sized guitars on this record it comes as much less of a surprise to hear that Miller once took axe wielding duties in a hardcore punk band like the now deceased Poison the Well, who once had admirers in high places like the lads from Gallows. But Sleigh Bells can actually be neatly summed up with references to Metallica or Justice, the French dance duo who spawned the fantastically produced 'Master of Puppets' remix. Anyone who has heard that remix will be thinking big compressed drum beats, raw guitar riffs and head banging galore, and in a more refined way, and with a helping of pop sensibility and melody this is what Reign of Terror brings by the truck load.
