Let me start this review by telling you about the artist behind this project. Eddi Pickard, does that ring a bell? You might know this guy from his main bands Infant Annihilator and Black Tongue both, respectively, two of the heaviest bands on the planet. This Navier Gene project is a little of Eddi Pickard’s softer side. With heavy influences of Soundgarden and Foo Fighters this is a completely different stylistic approach to music if you look at his background.
The first track Secrecy starts of with a nice stoner/sludge riff. The first thing I noticed was the guitar tone. It’s absolutely perfect. Rotten and raw but still very clean. I have heard the first two singles of the album called My Friend and Die Alone and I was very pleasantly surprised. I knew this guy rips on guitar but I never thought for a single moment he could sing like this. It sounds mature and the lyrics fit the music beautifully.
There are great ups-and-downs on this album which in my terms means heavy to more sensitive music. This shows on the third track Coincide. Starting off with almost clean guitars Eddi starts singing nice and emotional and it builds up into a catchy chorus that Temple Of The Dog might have written but didn’t. This sensitivity goes further on the track Just A Man which tells the story of a girl that needs to get over an ex-boyfriend. It’s kind of a mix between Eddie Vedder and Zac Brown Band in the best way possible.
My favourite tracks on the album are definitely the more riff-driven songs like Die Alone and my absolute favourite The Fat Proprietor which both show excellent vocal skills and the potential of writing heavy pop songs in comparison to the fastest and slowest death metal like music.
This project is everything I hoped for. I might be a bit biased because I love his work with Black Tongue and Infant Annihilator so I might have been fan boying for a long time now. Navier Gene is a statement by Eddi Pickard that he can write everything, has a wide interest in music in general and knows how to play not only his guitar but also the drums, bass and sing for christ’s sake.
There are just two things I hope for. One, that this is not a one trick pony and that Eddi decides to make another Navier Gene album. Two, LYRICS. I need those! So Eddi If you read this, send nu… ermmm lyrics.
9.5/10
