Bullet Train Blast

Nothing Remains

Written by: PP on 25/01/2012 11:36:16

The long-awaited sophomore album by Århus, Denmark based rock'n'roll unit Bullet Train Blast was finally released last week. Known for their rowdy, charismatic rock shows, the question has always been whether they can translate their live energy well enough on record for it to matter. "Nothing Remains" answers that question with an ambiguous 'kind of' statement. On one hand, vocalist Martin Larsen delivers a triumphant performance matching that of much bigger mainstream rock / hard rock vocalists overseas, but on the other hand the album lacks the edge and final punch instrumentally that would make it stand out from its slightly generic and mainstream radio-friendly hard rock feel.

Listening to songs like "The Storm", "I'm Insane" and "Bang Bang Bang", it's evident that Bullet Train Blast know how to write vocal melodies and groovy guitars well enough to ensure that "Nothing Remains" will always be considered at the very least a decent album. But it also means it's increasingly difficult to distinguish the band from the hundreds of other Guns N' Roses influenced bands on especially the American market. Black Stone Cherry had similar problems on their latest album, where the melodies are good but just not good enough to stick to your memory for longer periods of time. The same problem applies here, because where "Bang Bang Bang" is rowdy, energetic and has attitude-driven catchy vocal lines scattered all across the song, it doesn't answer the question "why should I listen to this in a week's time" well enough for it to matter in the big picture.

In short, what I'm saying here is that "Nothing Remains" is a decent album for what it is: a mainstream oriented, standard radio rock album. It's positive that it comes from a Danish band, since we don't have too many good rock bands left in the country, but it's not the album that's going to compete on even footing internationally or elevate Bullet Train Blast away from the smaller venues. A big part of the Bullet Train Blast experience has always been their live energy, and to me, that translates to the headphones on this record only to some extent.

Download: I'm Insane, Bang Bang Bang, The Storm
For the fans of: Black Stone Cherry, Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver
Listen: Myspace

Release date 16.01.2011
Target Records

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