Sonic Templars released their new EP to a buzz, which has been continually building since the band formed, thanks in no small part to their two previous releases.
New EP Weapons of Mass Distrust covers a wide variety of material, they’ve been compared to Nirvana, Radiohead and Muse however in the first track here, ‘Lay Down Your Guns’, sees a little bit of Soungarden seeping through, it has an eerie and dissonant quality to it, the band knows how to build a song as well and by the time the chorus kicks in it provides an end to the excellent tension built up through the verse.
‘Trigger’ is a favourite as the bouncing bass line provides a great hook to underpin the whole track, the sparser arrangement stands suitably apart from most other tracks here, which isn’t a bad thing as the production and performances really shine when laid out in this stripped back manner.
‘The King and The Ocean’ separates itself from nearly everything else on the album, certain key components of other songs are there; the tension building, hook writing and at times the almost dissonant sound, yet here they’re combined in a strange way that forms something totally different, the guitars wind their way through eerily while the lush vocals are produced to perfection, this may be one of the best hard rock songs to come out of Scotland in recent years.
Weapons of Mass Distrust is a solid EP, it’s well written, well produced and well-paced, Sonic Templars show a talent for building then relieving tension when it suits them and it’s one of those rare records where everything adds to the music, every instrument contributes whole heartedly to the arrangement and supports the melody sublimely.
Words: Phil Allen
