Rocker (feedbot)
Platinum Member
With hindsight, the collaboration between Des Rocs and the Borderlands franchise feels so obvious. Both the artist and the looter-shooter game series channel a renegade energy, whether you’re fighting off maniacs on an alien planet or singing about New York bikers with a heavy old-school rock influence. Both draw you into another world and leave an unforgettable impression in their wake. Maybe the first exposure a lot of us had to Des Rocs was via ‘This Land’ being included in Borderlands 4, or maybe it’s via his high profile tour support slots with Muse and The Rolling Stones. Either way, he’s here to stomp his footprint in the rock landscape with an outlaw sound that’s original and compelling with ‘To Hell And Back’, his third full-length in five years.
Let’s start with the big single; ‘This Land’ is a huge slab of riffs that explodes with strutting menace on the western instrumentals and chucks in eminently flammable choruses. It’s only half the story of the album though. While there’s atmospheric, Led Zep flair throughout, especially on single ‘The Juice’ which practically pours out the spirit of Jimmy Page in every chord, there’s a lot more lurking round every corner. Des Rocs prides himself on originality, and there’s a mercurial melting-pot of influences which he’s blended together on this record. ‘The Riders of Red Hook (Legends Never Die)’ is one piano fantasy away from being a Muse hit, and the fuzz of ‘The King’ combined with Rocs’ falsetto makes for a Courtney Barnes meets Freddie Mercury moment. If it’s stadium filling and bombastic, you can bet that Rocs has been filling his stereo with it.
That said, there’s more than a few personal moments where Rocs pulls back the rock star veil for a second and exposes something raw. While ‘The More She Wants’ does tread the well-worn power ballad path, Rocs’ trembling voice and delicacy on the gentle guitar makes it a window into the man behind the rock star image. Similarly, ‘Supernaturalize’ feels genuinely hopeful and optimistic; its a song for getting ready to face your day with a spring in your step, and that’s not be underestimated. It’s the closer, ‘The Way’, that really kicks you in between the riffs as it blasts with self-confidence and promise of success to come. There’s a lot of style on ‘To Hell And Back’, but there’s also the substance to support it.
For sheer entertainment value on a record, ‘To Hell And Back’ is up there, especially if you want a classic rock sound with a modern update and you want your riffs turned up to eleven. There’s a few moments of soul-searching, and of course we love to see our rock stars baring their innermost pain for our entertainment, but that’s not what we’re here for. Des Rocs is making massive, exciting, stadium-busting rock music with ambitions that reach to the sky, and we’re into it. Whether it’s on the planet Kairos or here on Earth, there’s always going to be room for a sound that’s this exciting.
KATE ALLVEY
Let’s start with the big single; ‘This Land’ is a huge slab of riffs that explodes with strutting menace on the western instrumentals and chucks in eminently flammable choruses. It’s only half the story of the album though. While there’s atmospheric, Led Zep flair throughout, especially on single ‘The Juice’ which practically pours out the spirit of Jimmy Page in every chord, there’s a lot more lurking round every corner. Des Rocs prides himself on originality, and there’s a mercurial melting-pot of influences which he’s blended together on this record. ‘The Riders of Red Hook (Legends Never Die)’ is one piano fantasy away from being a Muse hit, and the fuzz of ‘The King’ combined with Rocs’ falsetto makes for a Courtney Barnes meets Freddie Mercury moment. If it’s stadium filling and bombastic, you can bet that Rocs has been filling his stereo with it.
That said, there’s more than a few personal moments where Rocs pulls back the rock star veil for a second and exposes something raw. While ‘The More She Wants’ does tread the well-worn power ballad path, Rocs’ trembling voice and delicacy on the gentle guitar makes it a window into the man behind the rock star image. Similarly, ‘Supernaturalize’ feels genuinely hopeful and optimistic; its a song for getting ready to face your day with a spring in your step, and that’s not be underestimated. It’s the closer, ‘The Way’, that really kicks you in between the riffs as it blasts with self-confidence and promise of success to come. There’s a lot of style on ‘To Hell And Back’, but there’s also the substance to support it.
For sheer entertainment value on a record, ‘To Hell And Back’ is up there, especially if you want a classic rock sound with a modern update and you want your riffs turned up to eleven. There’s a few moments of soul-searching, and of course we love to see our rock stars baring their innermost pain for our entertainment, but that’s not what we’re here for. Des Rocs is making massive, exciting, stadium-busting rock music with ambitions that reach to the sky, and we’re into it. Whether it’s on the planet Kairos or here on Earth, there’s always going to be room for a sound that’s this exciting.
KATE ALLVEY