Old School Album Review ALLEYWAY

On this episode of An Old School Album Review we take a look at a Wisconsin band called ALLEYWAY.

with:
Nick Moyle - guitar/vocals
Andy Beam - bass/backing vocals
Dave Patterson - drums

I talked to the guys a little bit this week before the album review, asking them these questions..
Tunings?
Bands you have played with?
2019 memories?
2020 goals?
And what's a funny story about your band?

Here's what they had to say:

Nick tunes to DGCFAD.

Bands we have played with: bigger ones Diamond Head, Exmortus, Bewitcher, Thor, Castle, Attalla, Hellbringer, Manticore, Midnight (part of Spring Bash), Morta Skuld, A Sound of Thunder, Thunderslave to name a few.

Accomplishments in 2019:
Recording the fourth album, playing a couple of shows in Mexico, Nick making a couple of videos for us.

Goals for 2020:
Play more shows outside of our area, do a small tour, release the new album. make some more videos.

Funny story:
"There was one time on tour we were playing in Tampa and I took a shit on the lawn of an old couples retirement home that we technically broke into to crash there and there water was shut off." 😆

On this episode we also feature a special guest along with myself and Deena..
Grant Filer, whose expertise on album reviews and comes from his involvement with Sonic Truth Revolution, and also being a lifelong metalhead !!!

So will be shotgunning our beers while we do the review 😉

We'll start with Grant's review first:

GRANT:
"Sound well put together"
"They remind me a lot of EXCITER and THRUST."
"Slayer vibe in leads."
(I then tell Grant they are from Wisconsin)
"Canadian metal band influence, like RAZOR back in the day, RAZOR was a cool fucking band and they definitely have that vibe going on."
"Punk influence riff wise."
"They are listed on Encyclopedia Metallum as speed metal, just like the 80s."
"Definitely hear the old school speed metal vibe."
"Actually pretty fucking good."
"I like them I'm looking them up on Apple."
"Judging by their album cover their a straight crossover from punk to metal, the album art reminds me of that type of scene."
"They remind me of D.R.I., G.B.H., TANKARD, S.O.D., AGNOSTIC FRONT, AGENT OF STEEL."
"I get it, they definitely get a thumbs up."
 

DEENA:
"Got some TWISTED SISTER going on with the vocals."

"I thought they were pretty awesome, got some old thrash with some punk in there."
"I would so go to their concert."

JEREMY:

NEXT PASSENGER X:
What a way to start the album..
Super good intro..
Great timing..
Good riffing..
Such raspy vocals..
Good hammering rhythm..
Definitely got me in the mood to drink.

LIVE WILD NOW:
Old school punk sound, with LAMB OF GOD vocals..
Yells at people like Tom Araya would..
Super aggressive picking..
Slayer type solos..
Speed Metal? Thrash? Hardcore Punk?..
Good life motto: LIVE WILD

ALL THE SCREAMS:
80's thrash metal sound..
Good subject material with the lyrics..
Angel of Death yell at the end..
Solid drumming using bass drum well..
I really like this song.

SOUSSON PANNAN:
Viking metal sound..
I'm picturing 10,000 pissed off people..
Really like the growls in the vocals..
Super up-tempo..
Lightning solo..
Just a punishing song..
A straight punch in the face.

AFTER DARK:
Very aggressive punk sound..
Such an old-school sound..
Thrash metal solo..
Super high-speed drums..
Just a mosh pit song..
Loved the sudden stop.
 

SNAKE EYES:
Good trills at the end of the verse riff..
These songs have hard core power cording..
Overall just a hard-hitting song well put together..
These guys know the sound there after and have great timing.

SORRENTO NIGHTS:
Good pausing..
I haven't mentioned the bass guitar yet but it's definitely present..
Dominant picking attacks..
Solid song structure..
Super angry sound..
Just a head banging song.

HER OWN WORLD:
Definitely has a Motorhead vibe..
Good build-up..
Very punk rock..
Short and to-the-point.

THE CLOSER I GET:
Love the intro, just based off of that this is my favorite song..
Good smashes with timing..
Good come back into verse 2..
Both solo's are super fast..
Big 4 meets punk rock.

GENESIS IN RAPTURE:
Another great intro..
Not flashy, just aggressive..
Even hints of METALLICA..
A sledgehammer from beginning to end..

Overall we really enjoyed ALLEYWAY, they just know what they're doing.
They have an edge that you can feel.
I bet they kick major ass live.
 

Bands I'm reminded of when I hear ALLEYWAY:

MOTORHEAD
KISS- to some extent
SEPULTURA
MISFITS
AMON AMARTH
SLAYER
LAMB OF GOD

Thanks for tuning in on this episode of AN OLD SCHOOL ALBUM REVIEW..

For all things ALLEYWAY please visit them here:

https://www.facebook.com/alleywaybandwi/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAcQGKdpd6vTrzy6bXB_lFg

https://alleyway.bandcamp.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Om8PdqY4SJZl5krEy0VDW?si=i_UxErB5RjCDoivyiNF-8A


Jeremy Amack