- Spit It Out
- Mr. Know It All
- Blinded By The Lie
- Free Me
- The Journey
Do you know what a drag magnet is? If not, a drag magnet is a device...specifically, a magnet...that you attach to a long rope or cable, and then drag along the bottom of a lake, river, or even the sea, retrieving whatever sticks. My family was given the chance to do some "drag magnet fishing" in the summer of 2022 down in the swamps outside New Orleans. It was a blast, as we never knew what we would find, and the results always tended to be interesting!
In this case, Drag Magnet is the debut EP from Kick The Wicked is the side project of Fiction Syxx lead vocalist, Mark Lanoue, and drummer Rory Faciane, that was started during the pandemic summer as a covers project. Originally designed as an outlet for the guys to play music from artists that have influenced them through the years, Kick The Wicked eventually developed into a creative project with new songs that took on a style and sound of their own, separating themselves from what Lanoue and Faciane do with Fiction Syxx. And trust me when I say there is a drag magnet's collection of styles and sounds to be found in just these five songs!
For those who may somehow have missed them, Fiction Syxx is a phenomenally talented melodic, progressive metal band that truly deserves far more recognition from the metal world than they have seemingly received. Having been a fan of that band since their first album, I was extremely excited when Lanoue, whom I have known on-line for quite some time, told me about this new project.
Let me start by saying that Kick The Wicked is NOT a retread of Fiction Syxx. The song structures...heck, the song styles in general, are not the sweeping, epic progressive metal work that Fiction Syxx has perfected. All five tracks here are shorter and more straight-forward, in your face rock/metal than what you get with Fiction Syxx. And that's a good thing; there's no need for two bands doing the same thing with some of the same members.
The EP kicks off with the chunky, aggressive "Spit It Out", a metallic, rhythm guitar-driven rocker that immediately draws a line of definition between Lanoue's and Faciane's two bands. Don't look for any big, sweeping guitar flourishes or massive keyboard runs here, as that is not the style here. Still, the vocals of Lanoue, particularly on the chorus section where they are expertly layered, do add a melodic element to this opening track, which also features a scorching lead solo from Lanoue that truly needs to be heard to be believed. The man flat out rips here! The interplay between Lanoue's leads and Campbell's rhythm playing is superb, and Drag Magnet is off and running!
"Mr. Know It All" starts with a fat bass line rumbling over some intense work from Faciane, settling into a heavy, grinding modern rock groove, with Campbell's rhythm guitars just chewing through the verse sections, guiding Lanoue's lower-registered sneering vocals, which elevate in tone a bit on the chorus sections, which find Lanoue doing more singing than snarling. There's a swirling lead guitar section in both the solo section and the outro portion of the song, and I really, really like the interplay of vocal styles, which remind me of some of the things I liked best about the heavy alternative/grunge era, but with more modern rock production on the guitars.
"Blinded By The Lie" is up next, and that hard 90s alternative feel is definitely a big part of the song's personality on the intro, as it sounds like a darker, edgier...and somehow still more melodic...version of the groove that 90s rockers, Local H, achieved with "Bound For The Floor". The similarities stop there, however, as Lanoue's vocals are given a chance to soar on this track that drags a bit of the darker New Wave sound of the 80s into the track, while also still pushing a strong rhythm guitar line and some really top-notch kit work from Faciane. As odd as that mixture may sound when I write it out, trust me, it works perfectly here, and "Blinded..." would be my favorite track on this project were it not for the album's closer (more in just a minute).
So, what's left for these guys to toy around with? Oh, you want some funk, you say? Well, "Free Me" is definitely what you have been looking for, as the band continues with that 90s hard alternative sound, but mix in a funky bass line and drum pattern, along with an unmistakably 70s synth line, and some cool guitar riffing that gives this track a vibe unlike anything else on the EP. Lanoue's vocals actually take on a Geoff Tate vibe in places here, particularly on the chorus sections, and the guitar solo, this time courtesy of Campbell, is a trippy take on the type of high speed stuff Paul Gilbert uses from time to time with Mr. Big.
"The Journey" slows things down to close the EP out, and it is here that Kick The Wicked comes closest to showing their Fiction Syxx connection, as far as the more progressive style of the track. For me, however, the track sounds more like some of the moodier Queensryche material from the album Promised Land. Lanoue is an absolute BEAST of a vocalist, and "The Journey" showcases some of the strongest work he has put forth, regardless of the project, and his Tate influences are heavily felt here. The layered backing vocals are done superbly well here, and the guitar work is exquisite. This is the kind of material that really sets Fiction Syxx, and here, Kick The Wicked, apart from so many of their peers. The songwriting is truly remarkable, as there are so many moving parts that these three guys...just THREE guys...manage to fine tune into a well-oiled machine. It is a guarantee that part of the reason it took me so long to write this review was because I kept putting "The Journey" on repeat. Do yourself a favor, get the best set of speakers you can find, or a really top-of-the-line set of noise cancelling headphones, and put "The Journey" on; you will hear so many more elements mixed into this tremendous track than you likely thought possible, and Lanoue's vocals, in particular, take on a depth and power beyond what you might glean from just a casual listen. To say I love this song would be a MASSIVE understatement!
The production is great, the musicians here are all at the top of their game, the songwriting is all over the place, stylistically, but always top-shelf as far as song structure and construction, and the vocals outshine those of so many other bands that cross my desk or enter my mailbox. Other than the fact that it is only 5 tracks long, I really have nothing negative to say about Drag Magnet. Available on Spotify and anywhere you stream or buy digital music, there is no excuse for you to miss out on this killer EP.
Oh...and while not part of Drag Magnet, do yourself a favor and snag the band's brand new single, "Firefly", while you are seeking out the EP. Haunting and Floyd-ish in it's stylings, especially at the outset of the track, "Firefly" is the next step in what I hope is the continuing journey of Kick The Wicked. Lanoue stretches his lower-range Tate vocals on this hard, progressive rocker which features another smoldering solo from Campbell. Oh...and don't let the false finish fool you; stick around for the ending! Check it out...
Rating: An excellent little slab of melodic hard rock, with some metallic and alternative undertones! Crank this to 8.5, with it's brevity one of the few marks against it!
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