A more compact offering than previous albums, but I do miss the acoustic tracks. "The Message" is not a good choice for the opening track, rather ordinary by their standards. Things get cooking after that. Killer sound, guitars and vocals rule and I don't care if they cop riffs. There's a bit in "Sweet Lady" that sounds like it comes from Humble Pie's "Four Day Creep" off Rockin' the Fillmore. Who cares, it sounds killer!rMy only other issue is some of the song lengths. "Wolves at My Door" and "Corner" are just 3 minutes and I wish they were a bit longer. "Smoke Signal" is 7:26 and the last two minutes are the repeated "Woo hoo hoo" vocals over repetitive riffs and guitar noise. It didn't need to go on that long. Only "Drawing Flies" at 7:41 works for me at that length as the melodies and riffs are quite dramatic. Overall a damn fine album, been cranking it in my car.
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