Imagine a band with members from Tourniquet and Extol/Azusa and you have a pretty good start about what the result might sound like but even at that, you’d probably not be underestimating how good the musicians in Flood have come together on Polarized
Having only formed back in 2020 by Gary Lenaire and Guy Ritter, both from Tourniquet, Flood have pulled together quite the album after brining in bassist Anna Sentina , Erik Mendez (ex-Tourniquet) and David Husvik (Extol/Azusa) on drums.
The album wastes no time whatsoever in showing the direction of the band and immediately highlighting some great bass work by Anna Sentina as soon as “Design” kicks off. Throw in a fast riff and some feedback and Gary Lenaire shouting “I can see the design” and the song takes off. Lyrically the Christian themes come through clearly describing the role of Jesus in the design God set. Musically, I hear a good bit of Megadeth and some of the great power metal bands like Iron Savior, and from a guitar standpoint, some Dragonforce. Guy and Gary share vocal duties on the track Having two talented guitarists brings a whole new element to the solos in the songs as they can trade off and play in harmony and throughout the album, the solos are fit well within the songs, which can be a challenge.
“War in the Sky” opens up with a very fast heavy riff and roars into life with some lead guitar layered over the top. Some melodic speed/thrash metal vibes coming from this track with most of the vocals sung cleanly and that never ending heavy fast riffing and drums keep things moving along. As is the case with every song on this album, there is a lot going on that is easily missed on a first listen but this will be an album you’ll revisit, likely hearing more each time. By this point in the album the comparison to Megadeth is pretty much driving much of my thought.
Interestingly, the album contains three instrumentals, “The Four Seasons”, “In Remission”, and “The Order of Melchizadek”. As you might imagine given the pedigree of the band, these are not throw away tracks or filler by any means with each clearly showcasing the guitar work of Erik Mendez and Gary Lenaire and their interaction on the tracks is amazing to hear, in particular their exchanges on “The Four Seasons”, showing their complementarity and ability to play harmony leads. All the while Anna Sentina and Guy Huskvik carry the songs along with a rumbling rhythm section. “In Remission” starts out much quieter with acoustic guitars leading the way, until a heavily distorted electric comes into play, eventually joined by a second. From a tempo standpoint, “In Remission” is slower and has more of a plodding, pummeling pace. When the song breaks down into a jazzy clean guitar section, one is not sure exactly where it is headed but that part is a really cool break from the expected. In contrast to the previous two instrumentals, “The Order of Melchizedek” sounds to me very much like something off a Joe Satriani album and has a familiar feel to it and also allows Anna Sentina’s bass work to come a bit more forward which is great to hear right before another jazzy guitar break providing a bit of a breather and a nice contrast to the guitar fireworks in the rest of the song. The song simply sounds like everyone is having a blast playing it with everyone getting a chance to show their incredible talent.
Years ago the track “Darfur” was posted as a demo track and brought back here to put it in a full, finalized form. The track has an overall heavy, dark feel and some great drumming from Husvik. Eventually the song shifts into some fast riffing again reminding me of Megadeth, this time “Holy Wars…The Punishment” which is somewhat related in topic as Darfur covers the tragedy of genocide. As other songs on the album do, this one too has a quieter interlude except this time that carries through the end of the song and showcases a great emotional and sorrowful sounding guitar solo.
The other video available from the band is the rager, “Biotech Babylon” which starts out innocently enough until the pummeling drums and riffs start only to be interrupted by some great harmony lead guitar work that ends as the songs moves into breakneck speed. The trade offs in the vocals add an air of complexity to the song and there is some vocal snarling in there as well, which conjures up thoughts of Dave Mustaine in terms of approach but also the Tourniquet influence is hard to ignore. The song itself is a complex in terms of pacing and structure and of course, has some more great guitar work.
“Stop the Bleeding” might be one of the more melodic, thrashy tracks on the album and as such makes its way into my favorite track on the album. I love the scream to open the song, the smooth vocal chorus that still maintains a bit of an attitude contrasting to the shouted verse sections and the inevitable trading guitar solos making for a great track especially when you add in the bass work and drumming and closing it out with a high-pitched scream is icing on the cake. Somehow the song is fast and raw and perfectly polished.
Released on January 1, 2022 there is already an entry into the Top 10 albums of the year. There simply is no way this one will be knocked off that list. Everything from production quality to arrangements, to phenomenal musicianship is found on Polarized. This is an album that is at once heavy but also accessible and has something new to offer with every listen. Did I mention the guitar solos….?
Rating: 10/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist
- Design
- War In The Sky
- The Four Seasons
- Darfur
- Polarized
- Biotech Babylon
- In Remission
- My Last Ride
- Freeloading Larceny
- The Order Of Melchizedek
- Stop The Bleeding
Band Members
David Husvik – Drums
Anna Sentina – Bass
Gary Lenaire – Guitars, vocals
Guy Ritter – Vocals
Eric Mendez – Guitars
Release Date Jan. 1st. 2022
Record Label: Acidify Records
Social Media: Facebook / Instagram / Band Website
Video for ‘Design’
Video for ‘Biotech Babylon’