{"id":20701,"date":"2012-07-01T06:28:31","date_gmt":"2012-07-01T11:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=20701"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:16:49","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:16:49","slug":"primal-rock-rebellion-awoken-broken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/primal-rock-rebellion-awoken-broken\/","title":{"rendered":"Primal Rock Rebellion | Awoken Broken<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Steve Patrick<\/span>
\nStaff Writer —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"The primary benefit of an album like Primal Rock Rebellion\u2018s Awoken Broken<\/em> is that it allows an artist that currently performs in a timeless band, in this case Iron Maiden\u2018s Adrian Smith, to make music that is sonically quite different without alienating their core fan base. On this solo project, Smith partnered up with former SikTh front-man Mikee Goodman to handle co-writing and vocal duties. The result is an unusual album that never fully gels as a project.<\/p>\n

Awoken Broken<\/em> could have been very popular had it been released in the late 90s or early 2000s. Goodman\u2019s vocal approach is in the same vein as Korn\u2019s Jonathan Davis so the majority of the tracks on this album sound like nu metal outtakes with a much better guitarist playing on them.<\/p>\n

The opening track on the album, \u201cNo Friendly Neighbour\u201c is a decent enough opener with a guitar solo that sounds more like it\u2018s performed by U2\u2019s The Edge than Smith. Ridiculously childish lyrics like \u201cthe butcher and the baker and the mixer and the maker\u201d are pretty distracting and make it pretty difficult to get into the music. Goodman\u2019s spastic way of hitting high notes in songs like \u201cNo Place Like Home\u201d and \u201cSavage World\u201d just comes off as goofy. <\/p>\n

On the band\u2019s website, Goodman is described as a \u201cspoken world maestro\u201d which would be all well and good if this were a poetry album, but Awoken Broken could have benefited from the presence of a singing maestro instead. It\u2019s a bit of a challenge to hear the Adrian Smith who wrote songs like \u201cThe Prisoner\u201d or \u201c22 Acacia Avenue.\u201d Smith\u2019s playing on Awoken Broken is still top notch, but it sounds like he was looking to do the kind of experimentation that would be difficult to do under the Iron Maiden banner. Think of it as Adrian Smith\u2019s own personal Lulu.<\/p>\n

Granted, this is not exactly a glowing endorsement, but there are some redeeming factors present on Awoken Broken<\/em>. Smith sounds energized and excited about playing this material, but it\u2019s not exactly indicative of the level of quality that Smith\u2019s \u201cday job\u201d band usually creates. Goodman\u2019s disjointed vocal approach on this album stands in the way of a truly cohesive sound. However, anyone with an open mind will find some bright spots on Awoken Broken<\/em> to enjoy. <\/p>\n

Genre: Metal, Nu Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nAdrian Smith – guitar, bass guitar, vocals
\nMikee Goodman – lead vocals
\nDan Foord – drums <\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. “No Friendly Neighbour”
\n2. “No Place Like Home”
\n3. “I See Lights”
\n4. “Bright as a Fire”
\n5. “Savage World”
\n6. “Tortured Tone”
\n7. “White Sheet Robes”
\n8. “As Tears Come Falling from the Sky”
\n9. “Awoken Broken”
\n10. “Search for Bliss”
\n11. “Snake Ladders”
\n12. “Mirror and the Moon”<\/p>\n

Label: Spinefarm Records<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 7\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Steve Patrick Staff Writer — The primary benefit of an album like Primal Rock Rebellion\u2018s Awoken Broken is that it allows an artist that currently performs in a timeless band, in this case Iron […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[1373,2267,5436,3875],"class_list":{"0":"post-20701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-iron-maiden","8":"tag-metal","9":"tag-nu-metal","10":"tag-spinefarm-records"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20701\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}