The 1984

Artist: 
Album Title: 
The 1984
Release Date: 
Friday, April 18, 2014
Label: 
Distribution: 
Review Type: 

Founded in 2009, this Brussels based Groove Rock quartet brought us a first sample of their musical prodigy with the demo The Nightmare Before, recorded in April (at Noise Factory ) and released in September of that formation year.

Two years later (April 2011 to be exact), the band, then with new guitarist Nicolas Claus, traveled to Paris' Sainte-Marthe studio, where under the guidance of producer Francis Caster (whom had already worked with The Arrs, Zuul FX and Aqme, among others) they record their debut full-length album Room 101, which is released through the small imprint Fakto in October (a review of the album by colleague Jeroen, was posted 09/02/2012). Giving the album an extra allure, was the fact that Ahrue Luster (of Ill Niño and Machine Head fame) did a guest appearance on the track “Cycle”. To promote their album, the band criss-crosses the Belgian countryside to play gigs, the highlights of which include getting into the finals of the Belgian Hard Rock Café competition, and playing at the April 2013 Durbuy Rock festival (where they shared the stage with Peter Pan Speedrock, Loudblast, Ostrogoth and Cowboys & Aliens among others).

For their latest offering, this 5-tracked Self Made EP, the band [which currently consists of Claus, original singer/ guitarist Nicholas Brynin (whom you may remember was recently also added to the line-up of Brussels based act 15 Reasons), bassist Gregory Paternoster and drummer Gary Divito] spent time at the Piste Rouge and Noise Factory studios (the latter known from having housed the likes of Channel Zero, Set the Tone, and newcomers Never To Return, among others). The first four tracks show the band in their more energized modus, their relatively “heavy” Rock strewn with Groove to the gills (it's gotten described as “Stoner” in the past, apparently), and Brynin's vocals backed by at least one of the other guys' very harmonic singing. The last track, album closer “Open Wounds” displays a more sensitive side to the band, with a rather vulnerable semi-acoustic track (acoustic instruments played including piano and acoustic guitar, and some violin/ cello might be keyboard-generated, actually) which is however not without musical qualities!

For some music off the EP, consult the “Music” section at the band's own (www.) the-1984.com. The same track (“Dark Passenger”) can also be found on the band's facebook page, where you can also find an album trailer video on the EP. For additional (older) material on the band, I'm afraid you'll have to search for the possibility of the band's full-length still having a page on one of the trusted online sales sites (you know, Amazon, iTunes and such)...they usually provide samples of the tracks. What you'll find, is a band whose music doesn't especially fall “out of the box”, but which is excellent nevertheless thanks to good musicianship and great production...and of course lead singer Nicholas Brynin's voice should not be under-rated, for he's without a doubt one of Belgium's better singers in the genre!

90/100