Flogging Molly - Speed of Darkness (01/09/2011)
Los Angeles based Celtic Punk band Flogging Molly have released Speed Of Darkness, their fifth studio album. For fans of all things Irish and punk, Flogging Molly alternate between fast, upbeat punk songs, and slower folk and Celtic influenced ballads. Speed Of Darkness is a top, fun album, but just don’t expect it to push any boundaries or try anything really new.
Over the last decade, and five studio releases, Flogging Molly have refined their blend of their Celtic heritage, and punk music, and this album is no exception. The album opens with the title track, Speed Of Darkness, which is a fast, punk song which will go down well live. This track kind of sums up everything that the band does well, and it’s just a lot of fun. The Heart Of The Sea is a lot slower than most of the album, as if has more of a folk influence. A few songs on the album take the slower, folksier approach, and they work really well, even if they are lacking in energy.
Dave King’s voice is quite distinctive, but he seems to have lost some of the edge he had on earlier releases, which is either a result of Flogging Molly’s more mainstream direction, or the better production on this album, I’m not sure. The production is spot on, yet in my opinion this has the effect of lessening the impact that their music once had. This is not a bad thing, as the band members are all getting older and the band are maturing, but there is less sense of drunken punk sing-along’s on this album, which is a little bit of a disappointment.
The Australian edition of Speed Of Darkness adds acoustic versions of three of the songs on the album, which is a nice touch. Probably not worth buying the album again if you already own it, but if you don’t, and you’re a fan, it’s worth it a look. Speed of Darkness is not Flogging Molly’s best album, but it’s not their worst. It’s just them doing what they do best, even if that is at the expense of developing their sound.
Overall, Speed Of Darkness shows that Flogging Molly have found their sound, and they’re not doing anything to expand or develop on it. If they don’t want to fade into obscurity, Flogging Molly need to find a way to push some boundaries on their next release, or at least capture the energy of early releases, instead of just releasing the same album again.
Josh Mitrou
Over the last decade, and five studio releases, Flogging Molly have refined their blend of their Celtic heritage, and punk music, and this album is no exception. The album opens with the title track, Speed Of Darkness, which is a fast, punk song which will go down well live. This track kind of sums up everything that the band does well, and it’s just a lot of fun. The Heart Of The Sea is a lot slower than most of the album, as if has more of a folk influence. A few songs on the album take the slower, folksier approach, and they work really well, even if they are lacking in energy.
Dave King’s voice is quite distinctive, but he seems to have lost some of the edge he had on earlier releases, which is either a result of Flogging Molly’s more mainstream direction, or the better production on this album, I’m not sure. The production is spot on, yet in my opinion this has the effect of lessening the impact that their music once had. This is not a bad thing, as the band members are all getting older and the band are maturing, but there is less sense of drunken punk sing-along’s on this album, which is a little bit of a disappointment.
The Australian edition of Speed Of Darkness adds acoustic versions of three of the songs on the album, which is a nice touch. Probably not worth buying the album again if you already own it, but if you don’t, and you’re a fan, it’s worth it a look. Speed of Darkness is not Flogging Molly’s best album, but it’s not their worst. It’s just them doing what they do best, even if that is at the expense of developing their sound.
Overall, Speed Of Darkness shows that Flogging Molly have found their sound, and they’re not doing anything to expand or develop on it. If they don’t want to fade into obscurity, Flogging Molly need to find a way to push some boundaries on their next release, or at least capture the energy of early releases, instead of just releasing the same album again.
Josh Mitrou