London-based foursome Hornet have spent four years building a smatter of attention with a sound that distils stomping metal, rollickin’ hard rock and London punk into one vigorous, muscular whole. They’re energetic, there’s no doubting that. And by all accounts they rock the house onstage.
But for of all of its guided missile-style delivery, not to mention passion, this well-meaning debut album is flawed by originality issues. Alarm bells are tripped within 30 seconds of a title track that doubles as its welcoming clarion. Hello, isn’t that a grimed-up version of the riff to Black Diamond by Kiss? Elsewhere, State Of Emergency and Rock ‘N’ Roll Riot are indebted to a multitude of past AC/DC and Ramones classics.
When you’re not playing guess-that-tune there are certainly some decent songs here, including the libido-charged Down To The Bone and the Metallica-flavoured Storm The Gates – the latter a rare example of Hornet’s basic working knowledge of the term ‘light and shade’. Otherwise it’s a case of bang, crash, wallop and, frankly, no little drudgery. If that’s your thing, you’ll enjoy this.
