Some listeners will hear Szabotage’s Six-Pack EP and not hear anything particularly new. Guitarist Victor Szabo and the band’s three other performers long ago mastered the thunderous sturm and drang of metal/hard rock and give the style thoroughly contemporary treatment. Any fan, however, will recognize these songs occupying familiar territory. The quality they will not recognize, however, is the subtle yet significant personal identity emerging from these songs. You hear it in Szabo’s guitar, the particular interplay between longtime rhythm section drummer Grant Moynes and bass player Mike Dykeman, James Phillips’ phrasing, and, of course, the words.
Six-Pack reflects its times. The crashing guitar riffs, dramatic shifts in the arrangement, and on the edge of your seat vocals smack of personal desperation, yes, but likewise two plus years of global plague, war, and everyday unrest. “Mistakes Were Made” faces down a fallen world with its chest puffed out and head held high. It opens with a grinding and near-hypnotic riff that continues through the verses, but Szabotage doesn’t content themselves pursuing a single path. The arrangement may be a little cluttered for some, but others will enjoy the rambunctiousness.
“Channeling” is a furious and ferocious follow-up that begins with a brief passage of sound fx before erupting. You can hear the breakneck pace as Szabotage raises the artistic stakes following a rough and ready opener; the song puts its “head down” and charges straight ahead much more than its predecessor, but it’s far from one-note. “Are We Machines?”, however, positions Szabotage on the stairway of surprise. There is definite guitar firepower present throughout the song. The third song is a far airier composition, however than the preceding songs and thus its dramatics play out much differently. It is satisfying though and a nice change of pace.
Szabotage has a contemporary rock sound with genuine commercial potential. It is arguable any track illustrates that better than “Joyride”. The guitar riffing has a striding quality carrying the song into the stratosphere, but this broader example of the band’s sound never forsakes their core attributes – aggression filtered throughout obvious smarts. We turn back to flamethrower hard rock for “Sinn Fein” and it outstrips the earlier “Channeling” for sheer firepower. Many listeners, particularly longtime metal and hard rock fans will enjoy how Szabotage straddles the line between physicality and outright chaos without ever losing their balance.
“Fremont” concludes the EP. It has a much more languid demeanor than the earlier track and leans much more on a potent mix of light and shadow. Szabotage “orchestrates” the EP’s finale into an ear-catching series of peaks and valleys that retain listeners’ attention from beginning to end. Born in the shadow of tumultuous times, Szabotage’s Six-Pack boasts six songs but packs the weight of a substantial statement. Its energy, intelligence, and confident creativity are a rebuke to the darkness and bode well for the future of these four musicians. They are set to carry on the traditions and spirit of metal/hard rock for many years to come.
Chadwick Easton