Navigating the Bronze is Akimbo's fifth full-length since their inception in about seven years ago and their first for new label Alternative Tentacles (AT did re-release an album early in '07 as well). This three-piece is a vicious outfit that has garnered a reputation for their busy touring regimen and all around hectic work ethic.
At ten songs in roughly a half of an hour, Navigating the Bronze only further establishes the furious nature that the band is quickly becoming known for in the underground music community. There are some crazy sounding songs packed into this record. "Wizard Van Wizard" is all beefy riffs with heavy rock and roll rhythms. The slow part in "Dungeon Bastard" took me by surprise and gives the band's sound some added character and depth; and I like the way that the band pulls out it as well. As simple as it is, I enjoy "Roman Coins" a great deal; however, I can understand why people would not be into as much seeing as how it is a just short of three minute long drum solo, but it does illustrate how important the drummer is to Akimbo. The song immediately following is "Lungless"; it is a killer song with an awesome head banging rhythm. "Hiding in Paper" has an intense and absolutely painful sounding vocal performance; it is delivered as if the vocalist is passing kidney stones while he is singing. While the song goes on, you can still hear the vocalist howling, just underneath the din of the music. The leading riff of "The Curse of King David" is driving and just cooks.
If Akimbo intend to be a kick in people's asses on record, they do a good job of it. Navigating the Bronze does just that over its intense collection of ten songs. The band sounds passionate and has just a ruthless attack the whole time (save for temporary moments of quiet that are sparsely heard on the record). It is a good record that will surely induce Hessian like head banging.
