Whether it’s a band or an artist that would sparkle a little light in my ears, I know it’s going to be an adventure for me. And one of the bands that have the sounds of the sparkle is Points North. The band have a huge following in the West Coast area in California for opening bands such as UFO, The Aristocrats, Michael Schenker, The Winery Dogs, and Al Di Meola to name a few.
With a melodic and instrumental rock rhythm to their sound,
Points North have taken me by surprise. The band considers guitarist Eric
Barnett who was a finalist in the Superstar competition in 2008’s Guitar Player
magazine, Uriah Duffy on Bass from Whitesnake, and Kevin Aiello on drums. They
have a dosage of Prog, Jazz Fusion, and Hard Rock rolling into one giant milkshake
to enjoy serving.
This is their follow up to their 2012 debut, Road Less Traveled, and this is their
sole self-titled second album released this year on Magna Carta Records. This is also my introduction
to the band’s music. And from the moment I put the album on from start to
finish, I knew right away Points North have just blew the door down with a
cannonball at the right moment with an opening track just hits you with a
blistering introduction for the ride of your lifetime for Ignition.
With intense riffs, drumming, and thundering bass line, the
band are driving down the highway with a harder vibration. And it also
resembles the elements between Rush’s Moving
Pictures-era and The Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Inner Mounting Flame through different time changes by going from
fast to mellow mid-tempo rhythms that have unexpectedly make it a staggering
opener to kick things off with a big bang.
Uriah comes in center stage as he takes his Bass into higher
levels with the rising and ascending beats towards the Northstar. His Bass playing is a journey into the world of music as
he goes through the sounds of Geddy Lee and Stanley Clarke while Colorblind introduces vocals for the
first time, pays homage to the British
Steel-era of Judas Priest that shows that the trio can knock it out with a
homerun anthem.
The 7-minute epic Turning
Point (La Villa De Villers) shows Points North going into a driven and
erupt sound that go back into the realms of Rush’s glory days in the late ‘70s/early
‘80s. It feels almost as if the trio could have recorded this during the Hemispheres sessions. There are touches
of Prog, Hard, and Melodic Rock thrown into the passages and the midsection
shows a relaxing side on the highway before kicking back into the fast mileage
for a finale on the last few minutes.
On both Foxes &
Cougars and the roaring closer, Killer
Pounder, it’s a trip back in time of the ‘70s hard rock sounds that makes
you crank up the radio to a maximum level. With a blues-rock and Zeppelin-sque
touch on the two pieces, I could imagine the trio are having a great time with
this song filled with guitars cranking it up through the rhythm and riffs,
drums going into different areas and unexpected bass lines, that will have jaws
dropping at the exact moment.
This is my fourth time listening to their second
album. I was blown away the moment I put it on and was on the edge of my seat
and Uriah, Eric, and Kevin have done an excellent job creating the dynamics in
their instruments. And astoundingly, they are the real thing to explore into
their music and get ready for an undertaking voyage with Points North.
Here is a video of the band performing one of their pieces, Ignition from the album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzrhkEvXYak&feature=youtu.be
Here is a video of the band performing one of their pieces, Ignition from the album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzrhkEvXYak&feature=youtu.be
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