Band:	Stonecollar
Album:	Trial By Fire
Style:	Hard rock
Release date:	2011

01. Not For Good
02. Trial By Fire
03. SQT
04. Turn A Blind Eye
05. Poison The Well
06. Say Your Prayers
07. Unnatural Selection
08. ?As The Crow Flies
09. Loose Cannon
10. Dying Breed

Trial By Fire probably isn't the most suiting name for this album. Being Stonecollar's first, it feels more like a trial by, I dunno? steam towel. Sure, each member of the band uses his respective instrument well; the vocalist has pipes, some of the riffs are excellent, and the drummer has a knack for keeping beats. But ultimately the prevailing feeling in the album is that of hesitance. It lacks the sort of balls-to-the-wall passion that good heavy metal and hard rock needs to thrive.

Stonecollar does succeed, however, insofar as the majority of Trial has a foot-tapping, head-bobbing anthemic quality to it. A lot of the songs are pretty fucking catchy. There are moments that sound like they should have all Milfs, all around the world, peeling off their undergarments? but by the end of each song, Stonecollar comes across as a little too tame, too tentative, and too timid to really call out the cougars.

When riff momentum is building, they seem all too content with pulling back and slowing down. They rarely chase tunes and feelings. When solos build up, rather than exploding sexily, they have a tendency to shrivel. In response, the rhythm guitar resumes apologizing for its insecure brother and goes about its business. Few risks are taken. Indeed, some of the songs, when speeding up, wane quickly in an almost apologetic sort of way: "I'm so sorry. That's? that's never happened to me before." To which the listener responds politely: "Bahahaha. Aha, aha, hahaha... No, but seriously. It's alright. You're young."

Stonecollar has real, unmistakable potential--the vocalist in particular. On top of that, "Poison the Well" and "Trial by Fire" are two tracks definitely worth listening to and ended up stealing the album for me. I expect bigger things from these guys in the future. But to really get the fists a-pumping and the heads a-banging, they're going to need to abandon their sense of reservation and take a few risks. The talent's there. This album just needed a little more mojo.