'Beyond Driven' by Toxic Pete: More alt rock Crucible magic here; 'Beyond Driven' once again demonstrates how The Crucible refuse to conform! The crucible don't go too far from musical safety - but they do manage to rearrange the guidelines somewhat; they're not afraid to err on the side of indie/rock experimentation, they don't really seem to care if they can't be compared to one successful act or another. No, The Crucible are quite simply The Crucible - and all the better for it!!
'Beyond Driven' is another little beauty from The Crucible; it's a punchy, slowish piece with loads of unexpected hooks and I guarantee you'll quickly be singing along coz the vocal melody line is oh so contagious. Loads of percussive excellence drive this great song onwards, the bass line, although seemingly straight forward, plays its part in the overall theme and is pretty catchy in itself. The guitars scream, wail and groan along with the excellent, very expressive vocals. Everything is beautifully handled and the end result is quite amazing. Yes, every time I hear this band I hear something fresh and something that I like very very much - 'Beyond Driven' is no exception!! Just to prove their natural flair for the slightly unusual, the obtuse, the risky, The Crucible have included another sensational track here in 'To The Lions'. Bordering on post-rock this is a mighty challenging work, especially if you're not into the off-road way of doing things. A slightly risky 'B' side maybe but a sensational album track and definitely one for the musical extremists. For me, 'To The Lions' says lots about The Crucible, more that I can say and it's a track that really has to be experienced to appreciate. This release finishes up with 'Beyond Driven (Radio H'edit) just for good measure! 'Beyond Driven' by The Crucible is bloody great!! The Crucible show great versatility, strength in depth, adventure and courage here - a superb single from a brilliant band! Peter J Brown aka toxic pete (www.toxicpete.co.uk) |