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Social Stain

    
       
       
       
     
             
Social Stain are a heavy rock band from Finland forming in 2014, releasing their self titled debut album in 2017.    
             
Raucous, rampant and full of energy is the only way to describe the opening song...'Breakout' literally does "breakout" in a rage of heavy riffing and sets light to the hard rock genre in a way that legends Skid Row and Faster Pussycat did at the tail end of the eighties/beginning of the nineties. Social Stain are all hustle and bustle, with 'Dead Man Talking' bristling with energy as the heavy guitars excite the airways. 'Dead Man Talking' is catchy and infectious with a chorus that just begs to be sung along to. The album continues to thunder along with the swashbuckling swagger of 'Red Star Rising'. The chugging rhythm will have you stomping your feet hard and smiling a mile wide as the catchiness takes hold of you and whips you up into a frenzy. This is sparkling heavy rock, with a very hard melodic edge. With a bluesy, kind of jazzy intro, 'Good Old Days' adopts a Southern rock mixed with stoner rock vibe, and then proceeds to lift the atmosphere during the chorus break into AOR land...the versatility of the band to swing from genre to genre is effortless.    
             
'Joke's On You' attacks the senses with a punk tinged jab, and then uppercuts you in the most vicious fashion...this is punchy hard rock at its very best. 'Joke's On You' is the first song on offer that asks the listener to start head banging to, and head bang hard you will. Clean and clear vocals give the listener ease of understanding the lyrics and the sing along ability of each song is never in doubt. '(Ain't Got) Time To Bleed' takes on a kind of party vibe as it joyfully romps on, guitars buzzing with an addictive groove that may have you bopping like a teenager, note I said "may"... Upping the tempo, intensity and pace, 'Possessed' is a thunderous, punk edged rampage that sets one foot in the power metal genre and the other one in speed metal. 'Possessed' takes no prisoners with its relentless and unforgiving rhythm. All pace and power suddenly disappears to be replaced with a mellow, acoustic fuelled intro and the ballad 'At Peace' strolls in. Lighters up high and swaying from side to side is the order of the day here as 'At Peace' ambles along.    
             
Thank fully, pace and power is switched back on as 'The Unknown' thunders out of the blocks like an Olympic sprinter and it never looks back as it bustles on its way. The infectiousness of all the songs on the album is never in doubt, the smiling faces of the bands legions of fans will prove that. Addictive grooves, memorable hooks and galloping rhythms excite the senses and Social Stain are delivering a cracking album. 'Walls' is a blunt, in your face, attitude laden slab of heavy rock that will knock over small buildings with its ferocious force. Heavily influenced by the hard rocking sleaze metal genre of the nineties, Social Stain have added more rock, more metal and more attitude. The fiery 'Backstabber' chops and chugs relentlessly and is a frenetic flurry of riffs as it gallops past in a flash. The album is brought to a close with the most infectious and addictive song on the album, the self titled 'Social Stain'. Brimming with buzzing guitars and a thunderous rhythm that will involuntarily have your feet tapping and head nodding. A great end to a good album, this is a sparkling debut offering.    
             
Overall, rampant and galloping, this is punk tinged heavy rock oozing with attitude, heavily influenced by the nineties sleaze metal sound.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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