Artist: The Duel
Album: All Aboard The Crazy Train
Label: FFRUK
Reviewer: Mark Lewis
Date: Nov 4, 2010
The Duel are back, better than ever, and are getting ready to release their new album entitled ‘All Aboard The Crazy Train’ in February of 2011. The Duel are the legitimate torchbearers to Old School English Punk, and New Wave and Punk Rock in general. I have an advance copy, and have been given a real insight into what the rest of the world will get to see next year. Right now, there are 12 songs for the album, these span the range from Punk, to New Wave, they are old school in one sense, and new school in another, meaning they are new, not some rehashed material.
A song like “All Aboard The Crazy Train” is moody and introspective, songs like “Blaze of Fury” and “New Dream” are your straight up, go for the throat, old school Punk/Wave classics, all the while a song like “Freeway” is halfway in between. “Listen to “Way London Used To Be” and you will hear the frustration and angst about a society that is no longer individual, but rather go with the flow, like a bunch of “trendy” sheeple. Didn’t Bradbury and Orwell write about things like that, along with Kerouac? “Freeway” has kind of a ska vibe, in a sense, while “Fight On Thru” is punk in attitude and tone, and yet almost has a Head Cat-Stray Cats/Straight Rock/Gen X attitudinal vibe to the music, while yet remaining punk/wave.
When the album officially breaks, we will revisit it again and I will have a full blown review. The Duel definitely knows how to blend Guitar, Keyboards, Drums, and phenomenal Vocals, with amazingly well written material, in such a way that you are left beholding greatness and genius, what some would call “ the True Masters of Their Craft”. This is just a little teaser, tidbit for what is coming. I will say this, if you love Punk/New Wave/Rock, and really excellent, well written, well composed good music, then you are going to have to add this one to your collection, no “ifs”, “ands”, or “buts” about it.