Chicago Typewriter - From Mountains To Megaliths Album Review

By Dave McMahon Saturday, January 04, 2020

Chicago Typewriter are a rock duo from Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim. Matthew Davidson and Ryan Luney first came onto my radar with their single release "A Warrior's Will" back in March of this year and since then I've been blown away by their music. With influences such as Guns n' Roses, Biffy Clyro and Foo Fighters, you know these guys are going to rock. Now they have released their debut concept album "From Mountains To Megaliths".

"XII" starts the album. A short thoughtful spoken word piece with vocal echoes that really add to the atmosphere. This is followed by the second single "Praise" which perfectly captures the incredible sound that these two guys create. The bass is heavy and the drums are even heavier. Matthew's vocals match perfectly. "The Rise" is another banging tune, slightly more laid back but still with a rocking drum beat. Again, there's a spoken word piece at the end of this song.

The Tolkien inspired "Morgul Blade" is rock at it's finest. It's so good that it makes you do that weird scrunched up face as you headbang in your kitchen.

The faster "Our Condition" changes the pace of the album slightly whilst still maintaining that quality that Chicago Typewriter have become accustomed to. Another thought provoking spoken word piece bridges the gap between the songs. The pace is brought back down again on "Carry It On" which is much more pensive and introspective than the balls to the wall style of most of the previous tracks.

"Burn You Out" holds that middle of the album position where it's so easy for a song to get lost but this track kicks that theory in the bollox. Spoken word is on the menu again after this one.

The previously released single "A Warrior's Will" is still as awesome as it was on first listen many months ago. Turn this up to 11 and rock the fuck out.

"Out Of Control" is beautifully heavy. It's substantial rockiness is never too much and shows great restraint to keep the song on course. Once more, a treat of spoken word afterwards.

"Euphoria" is exactly that. The sound created by Matthew and Ryan is otherworldly and leads to a state of exhilaration whilst listening. "Caged" is perhaps the perfect showcase of what this band can achieve. It captures all of the qualities they possess and shows a high level of musical maturity. A short snippet like spoken word piece leads into the penultimate track "Reignite". The killer bassline is the driving force behind this song. Around 5 minutes in, the bass synchronises harmoniously with the drum beat to create a really nice level of funk. The album outro "XXI" is the final piece of the spoken word saga throughout the album.

Listen to the album here:

"From Mountains To Megaliths" is a stunningly brilliant album from start to finish. The album sounds perfect and is certainly polished which is a testament to the production skills of Simon Harte. The journey that Chicago Typewriter take you on from the very beginning is one of intrigue and discovery. The spoken word pieces fit beautifully and offer a contrast to the loud rock music. In all honesty, if they released a spoken word album, it would be equally as mesmerising as this. Matthew and Ryan should be very proud of this album. It takes a lot of talent to pull off a concept album but these guys have done just that.