From busking in the streets to viral social media clips, the UK’s most notorious and world’s heaviest one-man-band Cam Cole returns with his biggest and most genre-defining release yet. His latest record, ‘Unleash’, is a colossal and powerful rock record that spans ten tracks, and I’ll dissect each one of them for you and tell you what makes them great.
“Truth Be Told” – A relatively short track with Americana-style guitars and 70s rock-style bass. The drums and vocals make this track a heavy piece that mixes Americana and Southern rock with a touch of hard rock within its stompy riffs and powerful drumming patterns. Cam’s voice is incredibly distorted and even the effects he uses are unique. The world has been yearning for so long for a rock artist who can sound nostalgic but have a modern production just like this.
“Vibes” – This track continues with the same vibe but with some groovier bass lines. The drums are more versatile as they show some light parts amid the heaviness and it’s not monotonous or repetitive at all here. The vocals show some cleaner and softer parts than the previous track too, it shows how well Cam is emotion-oriented and knows how to deliver a performance that’s both grasping and emotionally relatable.
“I Just Don’t Seek To Please” – This one has the most country/southern vibe so far. I love how the drums play some off-beats and special patterns in the midsection of the song which leads to a 70s-style bridge before the song hits us with full-throttle riffs and heavy vocals once again. The way Cam can control an audience’s energy levels is super clear on this track.
“Freedom” – This one sounds like Arena rock and 80s rock a little bit more due to its bouncy and jumpy drum patterns, specifically all the cowbell. The vocals reminded me a lot of another artist I truly love and admire…Rob Zombie. This is one of those tracks that would perfectly work with a biker show or a criminal TV series in general, due to the adrenaline gush it gives you as you listen to it. The drums show an excessive use of the crash hits as well as the harsh vocals that never failed to amaze me.
“Look Into The Moon” – This one is a super dynamic ballad where Cam manages to show how dynamic his voice is. The song will ascend with energy during its bridge until it reaches the perfect amount of energy, and this is when Cam starts singing his lungs out with full power…it’s the album’s most special and unique track for sure. If you love Sabbath’s Planet Caravan you’ll love this track for sure.
“So Alive” – This track has a lengthy intro with calm vocals and a somber guitar chord progression. After almost two complete minutes, we get to hear the drums and distorted guitars roaring with energy once again. This track is energizing and perfect for workouts, and car rides, and definitely has a whole atmosphere of its own going.
“Know What I Mean” – This track has some of my favorite drum lines on the entire album. The melody line is a little bit experimental and closes its phrasing with some special drum fills that only musicians may notice and admire…it has a short duration however and the unconventional style of its writing doesn’t overstay its welcome. With a duration of just under three minutes, this song will convince you that Cam Cole is not like any other songwriter you know of.
“Unleash” – This powerful title track shows the overdrive and heavily distorted guitar production that most of the precious tracks have used so far, but what surprised me was the punchy vocal pattern. The fact that we’ve reached the eighth track and Cam is still experimenting is just fascinating on its own…he’s a truly underrated gem.
“Slave To The Breaks” – This one starts with some high hats and additional percussion along with the guitars’ feedback sound roaring making me anticipate that some kind of battle or huge war is about to start. The way Cam manages to make his guitars sound larger than life like this will always be beyond me. The highly distorted sound here makes for an amazing bridge in the middle of the song, which I truly enjoyed before we heard the main riff/melody for the last and heaviest time.
“Home” – The last (and lengthiest) track here. It begins with the vocals and guitars only. The guitars were only slightly distorted and overdriven, just enough to match the clean voice of Cam as he sings that intro in a story-telling way. Two minutes in, the track switches from that soft intro into a fierce guitar riff-driven structure in the most epic way you could think of. I challenge you not to headbang to that part. After the heavy part, the clean vocals jump back in with another section that’s storytelling and emotional as heck. Cam sings a serene and ethereal high note before the final breakdown hits us with a guitar solo embedded in the middle of it. I can truly imagine him playing this section while headbanging at a live performance and I can feel that grandeur just by visualizing the situation. He gave the album a masterpiece for its closing track.
