By Avinash Mittur
The San Francisco Bay Area has primarily been known for its contributions to thrash metal over the years, but too few know of the great classic and traditional metal that the scene has put out. Some like Hammers of Misfortune have pushed the old styles in new and unique directions, while others like Slough Feg have maintained a sound firmly rooted in the ’70s and ’80s. One of the newest groups out of the Bay Area to celebrate classic heavy metal, Space Vacation, certainly aren’t taking the genre into uncharted territory, but they are doing a damn fine job of paying homage to the vintage sounds of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and early thrash. These guys are set to release their second record, Heart Attack, on Pure Steel Records on January 25th.
Toronto’s Cauldron is the first band that comes to mind when one wishes to compare Space Vacation to other groups. Unlike Cauldron vocalist Jason Decay though, Space Vacation’s Scott Shapiro has some genuine singing ability. His melodic and smooth voice most immediately recall Kevin Heybourne of Angel Witch and the more restrained moments from UFO’s Phil Mogg. It’s a shame then that Scott’s vocals are given a cheesy double-tracking treatment and are washed in reverb throughout Heart Attack– the production on the vocals gives an otherwise pleasantly warm and fat sounding album a somewhat dated sound. The killer guitarwork of Kiyoshi Morgan and Scott Shapiro certainly has to be acknowledged at some point- the two never overplay, neither in the riff department nor in their solos. Just check out their extended dual solo in “Rocker” for playing that drives the songs and refuses to show off technical prowess for its own sake. It’s worth noting that the present lineup of Space Vacation is a bit different than the one heard on Heart Attack: drummer Andrew Headrick and bassist Jay Shapiro are no longer in the band, with Hatchet’s Eli Lucas taking Andrew’s place and Scott Shapiro moving to bass, leaving Kiyoshi Morgan as Space Vacation’s sole guitarist.
The opening title track is about as good of a summation of Space Vacation’s sound as it gets. Things are kicked off with harmonies from guitarists Kiyoshi and Scott and a surprisingly aggressive double bass attack from drummer Andrew Headrick that doesn’t relent throughout the track. When it comes to his vocals, Scott doesn’t give classic metal purists much to complain about; there are no death growls or thrash shouts to be found on Heart Attack, only legit vocal melodies. What Space Vacation truly succeed at is incorporating dynamic elements to their music- the instrumental break in “End of the Bender” makes an otherwise okay song into something truly exciting, and the contrast in “Bro Hammer” between the restrained verses and its balls out choruses make the track downright pummeling as a whole. That being said, when the band doesn’t employ that sense of dynamics the songs tend to fall flat. The most obvious example of this is heard in “Devil’s Own”, which never truly takes flight as the listener would want. As a result of that issue, Heart Attack nearly drags for a couple of tracks before picking up some steam with the Saxon-like swing of “On the Road.”
While Heart Attack is definitely a fun album to listen to start to finish, there isn’t a single song that makes the record stand out among the traditional metal competition. Where Slough Feg’s Traveller kicked things off with their eternal classic “High Passage/Low Passage” and 17th Street by Hammers of Misfortune had “The Grain,” Heart Attack simply doesn’t contain a song that elevates it to a level beyond ‘plenty of fun and enjoyable.’ However, praise has to be given to Space Vacation for not making Heart Attack an ordeal to listen to in one sitting. At a few seconds shy of 45 minutes, the album is as long as it needs to be and Heart Attack is ultimately a much easier and relaxed listen for it. Fans looking for a faithful tribute to ’80s NWoBHM and speed metal will find plenty to like about Space Vacation’s second record, and having another traditionally-minded metal band to add to the heavy metal world can only be a good thing. As a relatively young band, Space Vacation still have a bit of growing and evolving to do, but Heart Attack has their best elements and attributes on display for the metal world to see- watching the band cultivate their strengths and tackle their weaknesses in the years to come is an exciting proposition for this writer. Though it may not turn the metal world upside down, Heart Attack is a safe investment for many metal fans, and features some truly strong playing and a batch of songs that will be a more than welcome presence in the skulls of plenty of old-school headbangers.
Rating: 8/10
Record Label: Pure Steel
Release Date: January 25th 2013
Track Listing:
1. Heart Attack
2. End Of The Bender
3. Bro Hammer
4. Boston Massacre
5. Devil’s Own
6. Summer Knights
7. On The Road
8. Loaded Gun
9. Logan’s Ruin
10. Rocker
Links:
puresteel-records.com/bands/view/215/Space_Vacation
facebook.com/spacevacationmusic