Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

We all pray at some sort of altar, whether it is a physical one of stone and surrounded by fellow worshipers, or that in which the mind is open to the nuance of interpretation and the belief that what we find appealing in art can give us the lift we seek in even the darkest moments.

For many of us the sound of High Voltage Salvation is the only way in which we can truly find the will to see beyond the black mass of thought, and the electric temple, where heavy rock meets the soul, that forgives us of any trespass, is where deliverance and recovery from brutal opinion and negative oppression are openly praised and discussed.

For Electric Temple’s Andrew Freeman, Tony Childs, Mike Duda, and Matt Starr, salvation has arguably come in the form of releasing their brand new, and arguably direct heavy monster sound of an album which coaxes from the listener a form of stress relief, it offers not only a head turning belief out into the open, it frames the narrative spoken by many of the power and good from being able to literary scream your defiance to a world intent on making you sick.

Produced by guitarist Tony Childs, the sense of intimacy with the sound sought is overwhelming and significant, rumbustious, heroic, cavalier and an attitude of the groove that contemplates life in the deep end before understanding there is a place to swim in the open waters that does not get crowded by the everyday and the sidelines packed with non-believers.

Across tracks such as Big Black Hole, the excellent Kill Or Be Killed, World’s On Fire, and Am I Damaged? The foursome cranks up the electricity, they turn up the power, and the energy produced is enough to light up the alter of artistic impression to the point where it draws in the multitude for miles around.

The rock of ages is alive and well, the current is sizzling with a burning of desire and aspiration to bring the genre to an audience who have not been given reason to pray to the old disciples and the scholars of the heavy beat and the lyrics of change. Whatever the altar, whatever the choice, that heavy Rock has a new hymn sheet to sing from can only be salvation forever and never a fashionable a la mode.

The album is available to purchase from Eonian Records.

Ian D. Hall