Seeking Refuge
My friends 2021 is not looking good for gigs, many have been postponed again and right now it seems like we may be reliving 2020 all over again. Fear not however for the trundle of the Rock ‘n Roll train is never far away and the latest to alight shortly are Bolton boys Unknown Refuge. They are a fresh faced bunch with an even fresher talent; this is what that tiny little Northern town has been hiding.
Armed with a debut that sizzles and sparkles its way across this decrepit landscape, lighting up the way for the forlorn and the frazzled. An enormous amount of endeavour at the hands of Alex Mancini – vocals, bass, Morgan Deveney –drums, Harry Skinner – rhythm guitar and Jack Tracey ( is he a Thunderbird?) on lead guitar.
We have a bite size introduction to lead us into a truly masterful and meticulously forged record that will no doubt be one of the hottest debuts this year.
To me they are quite Dragonforce/Scorpions in tone and feel, fighting the good fight through their youthful exuberance showing a maturity beyond their years. Although the riffage is less intricate it still provides a substantial musical tapestry to weave your thoughts and experiences. We brave the darkness and move forward ‘To The Light’ and with each song take a deep sigh, aaahhh, and sink into the rapture that is the joyous fretwork. The prophetic line ‘so ride to the light my noble son, this is your fight’ my friends this is the rallying cry for us to all gather under as one. Recorded at Axis Studios under the watchful gaze of Matt Ellis, we witness classic rock re-imagined, when you’ve been pop-punked out (don’t get me wrong I like pop punk too) get your ears around this and let it take your legs away from underneath you.
We face numerous challenges in this record, the cold, the dark, the battles, the demons, an extremely perilous trek brought to life with ‘Shadows’, ‘Battle Hymn’, ‘Wall Of Lies’ and ending with the quite remarkable ‘Journey’ which ties everything together, justified and unified. For me the lyrics are very graphic, discerning and taut, the single ‘If The Gods Be Good’ talks of ‘the thought of men dictating lives is one I don’t care to live inside’ it’s like waving a flaming torch in the face of the village ogre, it is not a time to back down.
Our lives have been disrupted in ways that words cannot possibly describe anymore; I give you the voice of sanity, of reason and of kindness. It will be criminal if this refuge remains unknown.
Unknown Refuge – From The Darkness out 26th March via self-release