UPPER LIP – Deep Within

The future of Rock and Metal music is one big conundrum. If one wants to trust the late Ronnie James Dio, then all is safe and sound because “Metal Will Never Die”. It must have felt that way after he passed away, since not long after that sad day, a local English band called Skarf released their album titled “Rock’n’Roll is back… And This Time Its Drunk”. And recently, Rock celebrities such as Gene Simmons of KISS claim that Rock’n’Roll is dead. Clearly, the task of determining the state of Rock and Metal is not easy at all. But thanks to new bands being spawned just like the stars emerge from nebulas, it should be a tiny bit easier. Here are the Maltese Rockers Upper Lip with their record Deep Within.

The band was founded back in 2013 and Deep Within appears to be their debut album. There are multiple good and not quite as good points to it, but maybe this review will be make determining the fate of Rock and Metal a bit more viable. To start off, it sounds like the guys at Upper Lip have a good taste in music for sure. Especially the opening track titled “Keep Going” can remind the listener of a multitude of legendary bands – 70s Queen, KISS, Judas Priest, Scorpions and, above all, Guns N’ Roses. Luckily the lead guitarist does not sound like a Slash wannabee and despite many similarities as far as the style of playing goes, there is some originality there. The bassist, who’s doing a really good job towards the breakdown… he’s very likely to be a big fan of Duff McKagan. Sadly though, the vocalist cannot really be complimented here – he sounds way too much like Axl Rose. Some may find it good, but the front person of a band that is supposed to keep Rock’n’Roll alive should show more of their own initiative.

As the journey through Deep Within goes on, it is easy to notice that Upper Lip incorporate many different types of Rock into their music. Some of the themes even bring such artists as Red Hot Chili Peppers to mind. That remark in particular concerns the track number 6 being the title one. It really could make one think of the California quartet, but as soon as the intro solo comes in, all similarities vanish. That is one tasty solo in that song, no doubt about that. The only thing is that it turns out to be an instrumental that is just over one minute long. But still, it’s definitely good. Generally speaking, it’s the solos that save the songs’ skin. Another interesting song is “Be Free”, being the ninth one. There are some interesting vocal ideas to be heard there that could have been inspired by “Somebody to Love” by Queen. In some ways they do sound a bit alike. And the penultimate, tenth, track “Desert Song” is probably the best track Deep Within has to offer. The lead parts are particularly good in that one and as the song is coming to an end, the Hard Rock soul just starts to emerge from the speakers. That’s the spirit!

To sum things up, Upper Lip sure are not a bunch of random guys who think playing some random notes makes them musicians. But seeing as their technique is already fine, the one thing they really should concentrate on is developing their own style. For some bands it comes straight away, others need a bit longer, but it definitely does make hell a lot of a difference. There is potential here for sure. If the guys at Upper Lip just want to play for the sake of playing, then they’re fine doing what they do. But if they want to keep the Rock and Metal scene alive, they really need to work on developing their unique sound. Hopefully the world can be their oyster.