Alex Blaza

BLACK SABBATH, W.A.S.P. and ALICE COOPER; three of metal's most influential names, have, without knowing, helped influence and bring together four Glaswegian Classic Rock fans to form the epic DISASTER AREA. You can almost imagine what this band would sound like just from the names of their three biggest influences. You've got your dark and doomy Blues from SABBATH, your Glammy, Hard Rock from W.A.S.P. and the Shock Rock vibe that is ALICE COOPER (Well, their bio says it's more the showmanship of COOPER rather than his sound, but I can hear some COOPER influences here and there). The band loves drinking, partying, leopard print and pretending they are way bigger than they actually are...how Glammy.

The EP kicks off with the track "Dancin' on the Edge" which, at first, shows off the low end production of this EP and there could perhaps be another layer to fill in the sound, but immediately that opinion gets somewhat shattered when the screaming vocals of vocalist John C.J. Gunn come in, and holy hell does it give me a boner of metal proportions! From the vocals alone you can hear how much of an influence W.A.S.P. is to this band and damn, was I impressed. The song has a fantastic vocal hook and has the ability to get any heads banging and with the tight playing and awesome guitar tones, I feel that this band has a bright future ahead.

With track two you can hear the BLACK SABBATH influences a lot better than you could in the first track, and do I detect "Run to the Hills" in the first few seconds? What a coincidence (No sarcasm intended). "Queen of the Web" keeps that cliché of singing about a woman, has a stronger Hard Rock feel to it and the hard hitting Hard Rock riff which gets my foot stomping along makes me love this band's song writing abilities even more. Although the tightness of their playing slips a little in this track, but hey, it's their first release, let's cut them some slack.

"Gettin' Pretty Sick of You" and the title track "Let It Burn" scream Classic Rock at you, as if the other tracks didn't do that enough already. This EP sums this band up in one, as a hard hitting, Hard Cock-Rocking, Party loving Heavy Rock band with an aim to have fun while playing some killer music.

All I have left to say is if you like W.A.S.P., you WILL like this band and I hope to see more ass-kicking songs with better production in future from this band.

Luke Bravin

Dancing On The Edge
Well the song 'Dancing on the Edge' is actually a very catchy song even from the very first second you listen to it. That intro guitar riff is superbly written and played and then to top it off the main verse guitar riff kicks in and I tell you what I was head banging to it; and trust me if a band can get me head banging to a song; I like it. The vocals sound fantastic for this song as it is a song that gets you ready to put your fists in the air and shake them whilst listening to it. If you are a Metal Head who loves hard, fast, aggressive Metal you will like this song; mainly because I am that sort of person. Also production wise it is very well produced as you can hear everything especially that booming bass, the ear crunching guitars, the thundering drums and shrieking vocals. So not only is this song produced well but the band has also made a great song not just for hard rock fans who would like ACDC, LED ZEPPELIN, QUEEN, and BLUE OYSTER CULT but it is a band that even a diehard Metal Heads would like.

Queens of the Web
The second track of this EP starts off with a pretty damn good intro as it slightly sounds a bit like the introduction to "Run To The Hills" by IRON MAIDEN; especially if you played it lower down the guitar fret board and lower on the strings. Which is not a bad thing because they are not ripping them off it just sounds like it. Then when the intro is done you start to hear that thumping bass and ear shredding guitar riff kick in. The song itself is not boring to listen to either as you can understand the lyrics very well and are entertaining to listen to. The song sort of reminds me of the song "You've Got Another Thing Coming" by JUDAS PRIEST; especially when the verses are playing with the guitar riff. Also the guitar solo is not something which is over the top like AVENGED SEVENFOLD because every solo by them is just showing off. Whereas the guitar solo in this song is just right as it fits the song and sounds great. Also like the first song it is superbly produced and mixed. Plus when the guitar riff speeds up after the solo you can tell that when this is played live a massive mosh pit is about to commence. The build up to that high energy part of a song is what the audience loves to hear. On the whole it is another good song by the Scottish rockers.

Gettin' Pretty Sick of You
This song starts off with a pretty chilled out guitar riff which can get your average listener in the mood for a dance and for head banging; and trust me that is a very rare quality among Heavy Metal and hard rock bands. The riff of the song just before the chorus sounds amazing as it feels like the band are getting its audience ready to jump in the air and rock out to the song when the chorus kicks in and that is my favourite part of this song as it builds up the energy and when the chorus is played it makes an explosion for the audience. The guitar solo is not bad may need tweaking here and there but it is a good start. The solo sounds like it needs more energy. Also the production is pretty damn good apart from the backing vocals as you really have to turn up the volume on your speakers to hear them. Apart from that it is superb.

Let It Burn
Well first things first about the title song of the EP, the intro drum beat is good but it got my hopes up high when I heard the guitar and vocals. I instantly thought it was actually a Slade tribute act because their singer sounds a little like Noddy Holder. That would be great if I were the sort of person who had massive mutton chops on my face and shouted at young people for their music taste; I am basically describing John McCririck as I am sure he is the sort of person who would listen to this genre of music.  And to be honest I would rather blow torch my own nipples off than talk to anyone like that.

The song in all fairness gets a wee bit repetitive as the guitar does not really change for the whole song. There is no bridge or excitement in the song. It is just the same riff over and over again apart from the intro I will give them that. Plus the guitar solo sounds too much like a glam rock rip off of an ACDC guitar solo.

The only upside really to this song is the production side of the track; I really take my hat off to the producer. I really do as I studied Music production at university. You can hear everything so I was not totally angry when listened to this; I was just bored as there is no excitement to the song; I say that as I am a man who likes his music to have soul, passion and power. I will give disaster area the benefit of the doubt they have the passion but they must look for the soul and power otherwise they will be another rock band that sounds like a failed 1970's glam rock band who will at some point in their career appear on the line up round of Never Mind the Buzzcocks. And you can tell people are desperate when they appear on the line-up for that.

So my advice to the band is really, change the title of the EP as it is in my opinion the title of the worst song of the EP. Apart from the title track being complete garbage I really liked it so I would listen to the other three songs apart from the title track.