With a frontman that provokes an intoxicating blend of Michael Stipe’s vulnerability and Maynard James Keenan’s upfront and present weirdness, Black Opal’s debut is a healthy collection of melodic rock anthems with a distinctly sounded mix that left me deeply satisfied from start to finish.
Best in the Northern Irish capital Belfast, Black Opal are a fresh-faced guitar-driven rock outfit that pays considerable respects to rock music tradition from the 70s, 80s, and 90s through the melodic riffing found all over their debut Divine Accusations. The album is easily built around the 4-piece’s delightful tightness, led by a solid rhythm section composed of Phil McCabe’s bass and Sean Logue’s drums. Guitarist and main songwriter Shane Diamond, also band founder alongside McCabe, effortlessly creates songs that are rich and punchy, relying on witty and poignant lyrics to propel his deceptively intricate chord sequences and grandiose arrangements. The songs on Divine Accusations are nuanced pieces of in-your-face rock music that are lovingly crafted by Diamond, and with Dee McCann’s heartful vocals and guitar backing, the lineup is complete, full, and wholly ready to dive into the limelight.
Probably one of the things that define Divine Accusations is the album’s mixing which heralds a classical “scooped-mids” sound that gives the music an inescapable 80s flair. The album is also defined by relatively short songs that don’t take much effort to grasp and appreciate. What Diamond’s songwriting lacks in term of ambitious progressiveness is more than made up for in terms of variety, catchiness, and a terrific understanding of flow and pacing. From the jarring heaviness of the starting chords on the album, on ‘Beautiful Confusion’, followed closely by a confident beat and an appropriately heavy bass line, it gets clear that Black Opal are a band with style and with something to say. The song soon evolves to feature a short melancholic refrain that is our first introduction to Diamond’s affinity toward pronounced melodies. ‘I Can’t Stand It’ gives us a first taster of Diamond’s riffing capabilities with a riff that could easily land on a ZZ Top album. The song then shifts into a swampy blues jam with a sinister edge. The heaviness is brooding and the palpable tension created by the ominous composition and guitar arrangement make this song stand out on the album’s first half.
‘Electrify’ is one of the album’s clear stand-out cuts for me. An intricate guitar performance that is not scared of space, saying more through silence than through its few, carefully structured notes, and a slow-burning tempo to back it, leave a ton of space for McCann’s belted notes to shine, resulting in one of the album’s loveliest pacing jobs. This alternative rock showcases a confident band who are in command of their craft. At a little under 4 and a half minutes, ‘Into the Light’ is the album’s longest cut. This playful and breezy rock anthem makes use of a busy beat and a bouncy bass line to create a dynamism that plays great against the song’s unusual chord changes and immediately charming vocal melodies. Another stand out cut, ‘Into the Light’ might be one of the album’s most interestingly crafted pieces.
‘Catching the Butterfly’ is a thoroughly heartful rock cut that stands tall on the album’s latest third. Via its rampaging drums and soulful acoustic strums, it might be the album’s most 90s-themed song, and with a wonderful slide guitar solo, ‘Catching the Butterfly’ is an easily ambitious track that sees Black Opal on their finest strides, straddling bridges between rock, blues, and country, while retaining a sound that -at this point- is completely claimed by them. The band choose to end this collection with ‘History’, a soft and melodic ballad that revolves around an arpeggiated guitar line that’s sweet and warm, playful and charming. A delicate end to a varied collection of finely written tunes that define a talented group’s ambitious debut.
Divine Accusations shine with stellar performances across the board from the 4-piece outfit, championing well-written songs and though-provoking words in a sound that’s distinctive and fresh, Black Opal easily won us over with this one.
