ROLLERBALL NEW ALBUM!!

Submarine is the new album from Australian rockers Rollerball. Recorded in 5 days at Black Box Studios in Brisbane, Queensland with acclaimed engineer Jeff Lovejoy, the goal of the recording was to capture the intensity & raw power of the Rollerball live experience.

Long regarded as one of the country’s most incendiary live bands, Rollerball are ready to tear the roof off. Sharing stages with stoner legends Queens Of The Stoneage, Monster Magnet, Fu Manchu, Budgie & Oz rock royalty The Angels & Rose Tattoo Rollerball are the the real deal.

Take a mix of AC/DC, Kyuss, Blue Oyster Cult & Thin Lizzy & you get a hint of the unique Rollerball sound. Massive riffs, surrealist lyrics, tribal rhythms & pounding grooves, this is hard rock without irony, pastiche or plagiarism. From turbo charged belters, prog mind melters, sing along shanties & epic stoner jams, Submarine is an album that demands to be heard from start to finish.

Prepare to dive.

(+1 Records)Brisbane riff masters return Album number three for Rollerball sees the hard-rocking locals sounding stronger than ever. The influences are glaring, but that’s never really mattered with this band – their scuzzy swagger allows them to get away with a particularly Detroit Rock City-esque riff in the galloping title track. They also convince when they slow down to a hard rock groove such as in the almost funky strut of Youth Bailed (Back To Hell). With such wonderfully knuckleheaded stuff like that, you wouldn’t be out of place for expecting a whole record of denim ‘n leather anthems. But there’s a willingness to explore a range of moods on this record, as Rollerball sound equally powerful in the violin-infused brooding rock of Your Lullaby and the extended desert chugging of Tame Existence. It’s an album where Kiss and Kyuss are musical allies, a point not lost on legions of Australian gig-goers who have caught them firing up pubs and festivals for many years now. Time has allowed them to hone their riff-heavy tunes, which have lost none of their old garagey grit, but have more defined peaks and troughs. It’s proof that a band can sound simultaneously raw and solid as steel. The less patient may balk at the 15 minutes and 39 seconds of Never A Rodeo, but I am one of (I imagine) many who can quite cheerily take in a slowed-down-Steppenwolf psych-metal epic. Luckily, Rollerball also provide plenty of opportunities to boogie. **** MATT THROWER Rollerball ROLLERBALL Submarine (Plus One/Shock) Rollerball’s Submarine is something of a surprising record. One of the more promising rock outfits to emerge from the city’s underground in recent years, Rollerball have nevertheless distinguished themselves throughout their career as belligerent hard rock leviathans with a gleefully violent sound that embodied the truly timeless appeal of the phrase “shit-kicking rock’n’roll” and have always taken particular pride in their ability to deliver that sound with charismatic rawness. Submarine, however, finds the band revealing a taut and muscular focus many would have considered beyond their capacity. One needn’t be alarmed – Rollerball still excel at delivering rambunctious, swaggering rock music – but Submarine possesses a level of clarity and cohesion that completely contrasts the band’s image as party-friendly lugs. The precision of the band’s musicianship (particularly the tautly focussed rhythm section Cam Roach and Stew MacLennan) is laudable on swinging numbers like ‘Submarine’ and mid-paced work-outs like ‘Youth Bailed’, while even bellowing vocalist Matt Boland reveals a considerably sophisticated grasp of dynamics with memorable numbers like ‘We Always Slide’. The band’s advancements, meanwhile, are chronicled beautifully by the gorgeous work of Brisbane production legend Jeff Lovejoy. While a surprisingly precise listen, the record is nonetheless a hugely successful record and one could imagine it succeeding with a myriad of demographics. There’s a definite hint that Rollerball had a great deal personally invested in this record and were determined to release their absolute best work and, somehow, the band’s focus delivered precisely what they were looking for in a release. The pedants will inevitably miss the grittier, ephemeral charm of the band’s earlier efforts but the honest won’t be able to deny Submarine’s strengths. One can only hope the record reaches the audience it so richly deserves. HHHH   James Barlow  ROLLERBALL Submarine (+1 Records) It’s late Friday night in the Valley, a siren undulates in the distance, a flanno clad punter draws on a tatty White Ox cigarette, exhales, and rasps “The ‘Ball is back“. For those who came in late: Rollerball are the local masters of a retro-form, stoner-rock style that melds jammy, riff-laden early grunge with explicit vintage rock influences and badass grooves. After a lengthy hiatus Submarine puts Rollerball back behind the wheel (or should I say the tiller) with an absolutely mind snapping release that takes the reviewer back to when Back in Black thrilled rockpigs with a similar stratospheric shift into high gear. There’s finesse, dynamism, continuity and reprise along with sonic artifacts not encountered in prior Rollerball releases. For all this they’re still as bold as bollocks. This is Rollerball-deluxe with a cherry on top. Recorded in just 5 days at Black Box studios Brisbane it’s their best sounding album to date and mastered very LOUD. From the rolling surf intro into the spooky fade-in guitar/bass motif there’s a sense of journey from the outset. The title track breaks the spell with a rollicking kick-arse rocker laying down the rules for what’s to follow and showing that engineer Jeff Lovejoy sure knows how to record a guitar (bless his heart). ‘Seasoar’ is an obvious pick for radio play (check out the video on YouTube). ‘Youth Bailed (Back to Hell)’ has guitarist Dave Talon channeling the brothers Young with some of the most guttural power chordage ever heard outside a Mutt Lange production then rounding it off with a treacle thick woman tone solo. ‘Your Lullaby’ surprises with a rootsy, southern fiddle dovetailed into a piece that’s as powerful as a leftover from Zeppelin II.‘Tame Existence’ has a stealthy, brooding beauty that wanders off nicely into the jungle. The closing track ‘Never a Rodeo’ is a funereal epic that despite its length is still engaging to the very end and suggests the subliminality and restraint of the late, great Free before pummeling its way home via some entrancing interplay from the rhythm section. As good as this is in terms of a collective effort for me the outstanding trademark is singer Matt Boland who is surely one of the most compelling and identifiable rock voices in the Antipodes. Top marks also for the cover art and concept. Check out their website for a list of their remaining gigs and catch the ‘Ball before they go back into hibernation. (Julian Endsleigh)

REVIEW: Rollerball – Submarine

HeavyRock from Australia
Rollerball – Tame Existence

Rollerball play 70′s blues rock that kicks you right in the face with a riff-shoe big enough for most men to get both feet in. This offering ‘Submarine’ (aside from having a THE coolest cover art I have ever seen) opens up with a phsychadelariff that reminds me of Monster Magnet and Fu Manchu in the same moment.

One of the difficulties of making yourself appreciated in the steep gradient and transparent world of rock-song creation is making your songs sound cool, interesting and believable at the same time and Mr Boland, supported by one of the tightest rhythm sections heard so far this year and a guitar tone that screams CRANKED TUBE AMP – ARGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH sings songs of dirt, frustration and anger with a style that suggests he actually did once lose a submarine in an act of theft – that would really fuck me off if it happened to me.

I love their Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden style of guitar / bass interaction (especially on Seasoar and We Always Slide) as this really gives the 70′s Early 80′s rock vibe a push forward. I was less impressed by the rather pedestrian Tame Existence but was then blown away by the driving relentlessness and palm muted coolness on B-Ray Boogie. I would LOVE to see this song played live at full volume!!!

I was starting to think this record was a bit ‘samey’ and it then was lulled into a false sense of security by the trippy ‘Devil’s Reprise’ which softened me up for the ‘acid in the face from a jealous ex partner’ riff hammering that hit me with Run Aground.

This is a cool record, for fuzz tones they sound like they have relied upon a cranked Marshall – I am not sure if they used fuzz anywhere on this record but my ear has been wrong before.

Reviewed by Jon Davis

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Rollerball – Submarine

Time has not diminished the power of one of Brisbane’s finest

After a lengthy five year hiatus from the scene, Brisbane (Queensland) based rock ‘n’ roll outfit Rollerball have finally emerged from the depth of self imposed hibernation to return with their long overdue third full-length outing Submarine.

Despite the years between releases (their last being 2004’s highly regarded Oversize), the four piece act (comprising of vocalist Matt ‘Tenpin’ Boland, guitarist Dave Talon, bassist Stew ‘Boots’ Maclennan and drummer Cam ‘Cracker’ Roach) prove they still have what it takes to rock, with Submarine easily the band’s most accomplished and complete recording to date.

Tying in with the album title, the album is opened up with a short instrumental piece entitled Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, which sees the band gently open up proceedings with a cool guitar/bass interlude alongside the sounds of crashing waves. As the introduction draws to a close (marked by the sound of the sonar echoes from a submerged submarine), the band fully get things underway with the title track Submarine. Boland’s weathered vocals, Talon’s huge chugging riffs, Maclennan’s ever-present bottom end and Roach’s steady backbeat have always been the backbone of Rollerball’s back to basics rock sound, and it remains the same here, with all of the band’s trademark characteristics out in full force on Submarine.

The first single/promotional video clip Seasoar is an obvious choice as the first cut to announce the band’s return to the scene with its catchy chorus and big galloping riffs, while on Youth Bailed (Back to Hell), the band really pull out some AC/DC inspired riffs, all the while injecting a bit more of a funk vibe (particular in the bass performance toward the tail end) to shake the mix up.

It’s around Your Lullaby that the band show how much their sound has evolved over the years, with the band taking the foot off the accelerator a touch to include some bluegrass sounding violin (courtesy of Like Moller) to counterbalance Boland’s performance on the song’s strong anthem-like choruses, while the straight-forward groove (almost stoner like in some ways) of We Always Slide really is something different sounding from anything else on the album. Following on in the same experimental mood is Tame Existence, where Boland utilises some of the higher end of his range of his vocals to great effect, while the music moves from downright dirty heavy rock to more open end desert rock, with plenty of tribal like influences being drawn out to the fore toward the tail end.

After another brief instrumental piece (The Devil’s Reprise), Rollerball fire things up once again with the two minute blast of Run Aground passing by in a blinding pace, while the infectious B-Ray Boogie is classic rock at not only its most primitive, but also at its catchiest and best.

Finishing up the album is the fifteen minute epic Never a Rodeo, where the band freely jams away on a heavy blues like tune. Talon’s free reign over proceedings ensures that the song never drifts into any real lull throughout its lengthy duration, but restrained enough to allow the other members of the band to contribute at various points throughout the song, before fading out with the sounds of the ocean that initially started off the album.

Album number three from the Brisbane rock ‘n’ roll outfit is by far their most diverse offering to date, but it also stands as one of their strongest and most consistent efforts as well. And while Submarine may have been a long time coming (despite only taking five days to record with acclaimed studio engineer Jeff Lovejoy), Rollerball fans can be assured that the wait has been well and truly worth it.

(+1 Records/Shock Records Distribution)

Added: September 20th 2009
Reviewer: Justin Donnelly
Score:
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