‘Force Majeure & The Acts of God’ is the fourth album from Portuguese rock act The Black Wizards, but their first to feature their current three-piece lineup, after years of wrangling, rials, and tribulations, to which the title make reference.
As the obligatory notes explain, ‘there’s something knowingly tongue-in-cheek about a band called The Black Wizards naming their album after bureaucratic disaster terminology. That tension between absurdity and confrontation runs throughout the record itself: funny, sharp, politically charged and constantly pushing forward. Written as political landscapes across the world spiral into disarray, ‘Force Majeure & The Acts of God’ channels frustration and urgency without ever sinking into hopelessness. “The world is going the way that if you finish writing a song about something that deeply touches you, by the next day there is new shit happening,” says bassist José Gomes.
Oh yes: that’s relatable. In recent years, I’ve gone to bed with the news on, and the first thing I do on waking is check a news site on my phone to make sure the world hasn’t ended. That probably sounds gimmicky, but no, it’s true.
The Black Wizards probably aren’t as panicked or paranoid, and ‘Force Majeure & The Acts of God’ is not an album packed with paranoia and panic, but monstrous ruffs ploughed out at a hundred miles an hour.
‘Ain’t Talking’ kicks the album off in a furious blast of raw energy that brings the firepower and punky sass of Amyl and the Sniffers paired with the frenzied metal riffery of Mötörhead. It’s pretty much the tone of the album, set, right there. There’s the motorik, savvy alt-rock of ‘Killing the Buzz’, and this song hauls in elements of prog and blues rock, and when they hit a groove, they hit a groove. ‘Beat’ is a glorious riff-driven beast, and neither ‘9 to 5’ or ‘Wishing Well’ are covers: the latter mins the seam of 70s hard rock and in unashamed in its Zeppelinist leanings.
|
‘Force Majeure & The Acts of God’ isn’t a groundbreaker, but it’s a solid riff-centric rock album with some well-executed solos. Because it’s not overly produced, it’s got tangible energy and a sense of immediacy thanks to its firepower. Rock as it should be.
|
