Soul On Fire
The Last Internationale are a band that are making waves at the moment. Having racked up touring support slots in recent years with The Who, Robert Plant and more recently The Cult, they are something special. Fronted by vocalist Delila Paz and with Edgey Pires on guitar, The Last Internationale are an exciting act! This, their latest album is no different, it’s raw and hard hitting.
Opening with an ‘Intro’ that is just over a minute of wall to wall noise. What a great way to start the album. We are introduced to overly distorted vocals and all the gusto and energy one would expect from a live show!
Moving seamlessly into the first track, ‘Hard Times’ this track has a great punchy bass line, with great guitars working in conjunction with the punchy bass. More distorted vocals and I really love them, the vocals and guitar duel throughout the song, and what a voice Delila has. Just incredible. The track comes to end with Delila demanding people to ‘Rise Up’. This is a political anthem with a band who are desperate for change.
‘Mind Ain’t Free’ is next, beginning with an explosion of gutsy raw sound with a real crunch guitar riff. The vocals explode into the epicentre of the track and the song thunders along and this song in particular just oozes angst. Something The Last Internationale does incredibly well. With drumming provided by Queens of The Stone Age drummer, Joey Castillo, this is an absolute belter of a track and one of my favourites on the album
Slowing things down considerably, ‘Try Me’ is a moody number, talking about the difficulties of making it alone. Delila’s vocals are stunning on this. So powerful. I love the distortion on the vocals, almost as if she were singing through a megaphone, perhaps they are harking back to the days of Tom Waits’ Chocolate Jesus! Just a thought I had…
The album continues, from the bluesy Eric Clapton, Cream inspired ‘Tempest Blues’ which is a great blues rock track. What a great guitar sound on this track too, with a face melting solo in the middle. Then the slightly heavier ‘Freak Revolution’. I love this riff, I need to hear this one live and that solo, well, all I can say is Edgey Pires is one hell of a guitarist.
Then comes the title track, it comes mid way through the album. Wow. This makes you really sit up and really listen. Opening with a piano introduction. I challenge you NOT to be moved by this track. It sent shivers up my spine. The lyrics are incredible, opening with the line ‘Some are born to kill, others are born to run’ It really looks into the human condition. This track absolutely captivated me. Delila Paz has an absolutely incredible voice. I love the stripped back middle eight too with just the vocals and an acoustic guitar, before the track launches back into the full energy and power and drives on through to the end.
Another stand out track on the album for me is ‘God Is A Sound’. Opening with just acoustic guitar, it begins to build and a little syncopated guitar is added, running through the first verse and chorus. It really is a slow build up, but when you get there, well, what a sound! By the end, this track is firing on all cylinders, and then some!
The album comes to an end, as it started with an intro, well it must end with an outro! After such an energetic album, I thought the outro would be of a similar vein. But, no, it is very much stripped bare, with just an acapella vocal and a single clap. Almost gospol like, celebrating the music that is in Delila’s soul. A perfect ending to a mind blowing album.
The Last Internationale are an almighty force of nature and this album, as I have said is mind blowing. It took me a few listens to actually fully digest it and that, believe me is not a bad thing. This is an absolutely incredible piece of work and I for one can’t understand why the Last Internationale are not headlining Wembley. Well, they might not be at the moment, but you mark my words, watch out for these guys, because these are the future
