We’ve all heard of the sophomore slump, but Florence Black don’t know the meaning of it. Racing off the back of the whirlwind success of their first album, Weight Of The World, Florence Black are back with their signature blend of arena hard rock and heavy metal riff work on Bed Of Nails. You may dismiss the band as another carbon copy of other bands in the scene, but they have their own distinct sound, all thanks to the unmistakable vocals of guitarist/vocalist Tristan Thomas. While his raspy clean vocals cut through opener ‘Start Again’, his guitar work is equally as impressive. The crunchy riffs combined with effortless solos he provides throughout the record is explosive.
‘Don’t Hold Me Down’ is the point where you know Florence Black aren’t here to play games. Granted, it’s only song number two on the twelve-track beast, but the anthemic chorus combined with Perry Davies’ thunderous drumming proves the swagger from their first album hasn’t yet faded away. While on Bed Of Nails they don’t steer as much into metal territory as they have before, Thomas pulls out his gritty growls when necessary and not a moment too soon, nor too late.
While they flourish on tracks like ‘Taxman’ with Thomas’ energetic vocals and Jordan Evans’ bulldozer bass work in tow, it’s the slower tracks like ‘Look Up’ where you can feel their creativity oozing through the record. It’s where they’ve pulled out the Black Stone Cherry side of things, and they do it justice. ‘Look Up’ paves the way for their sound and opens an unimaginable number of doors to embark through.
The album itself is full to the brim with southern style riffs and hooks that are brought to life with the speed and aggression only Florence Black have this side of the pond. ‘Warning Sign’ is another song that captivates their decent into slower ballad like territory. Backed by Davies & Evans’ bass and drum work respectively, Thomas’ guitar solo cuts through the album like a hot knife through butter. ‘The Way Home’, however, does a musical U-turn back to the rough and ready hard rock style with riffs aplenty from Thomas & Davies. Evans’ drum patterns on this track in particular show his ability to switch between beats without a single thought.
Bed Of Nails is more along the lines of slower material as previous songs have admittedly shown, but you can’t even be mad at this. If you’ve come here for intense hard rock, you’ll be more than happy with the selection of tunes on offer. But you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how well the slower songs are written and structured, and how much they’ll be stuck in your head for the following days. The Welsh trio made their album debut in 2021 with a thunderous crash and have been on the road ever since. Their debut however, didn’t come without with room for improvement. Bed Of Nails is that improvement. Sleazy, beautiful & cut-throat in equal measure to make the reemergence of Welsh bands taking back control of the rock scene.