Brett Parmenter for Metal on Tap and ParMetal Media
Bark is back!
With the hunger that begins with the first song on the album, Negativist. A visceral reminder for you to “Get your shit together”, hard hitting, fast, a warning to those who are negative people, and realistically, who hasn’t been there. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been a negative person from time to time.
This first single from The Time Has Come rips your face off from the get-go with punishing guitars and lyrics that would wake the dead from their eternal slumber. Roaring vocalist Ron Bruynseels holds nothing back and starts this album on a personal note that resonates with everyone who has ever had a negative frame of mind.
Shaman, the second track, has more of a rock feel to it. Mystical, gutsy guitar and hard hitting, yet slightly slow tempo drums take you on an expedition from the neon lights of the city to the sacred land, hypnotising the listener with a story of the Shaman, who shows you the difference from the reality you see to the brutal truth within your own psyche.
Back with relentless pace is the third song Dodge the Bullet. This song has a bit of everything, changing tempo several times, the story of a lifetime of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, dodging bullets along the way, in an effort to live life on your own terms. A song I think we metalheads will relate to. We live our lives our own way, it’s the metalhead creed!
The next single from the album is On No One’s Word. Once again slowing down the intensity of Dodge the Bullet, following a path to freedom, living on their own terms with a defiance against a society that has lost its way. As the chorus goes, “By no man’s hand, on no one’s word”, spells out the spirit of the song. If the powers that be can’t do the right thing by the people they’re meant to serve, then fuck them! I’ll do things my way. A strong message for the times we live in today.
Whisky Rivers turns up the heat with frenetic guitar and guttural roar to open the song. It’s pretty much a ditty about getting fucked up and having to deal with consequences, and hangovers, the next day, but also the conquering of inhibitions you may have when you’re straight. You know what it’s like, before you hit the piss you may be a shy person who doesn’t want to stir up any trouble, but once that alcohol, or the Whisky Rivers flow through your veins, those inhibitions disappear into the aether. But tomorrow always comes, and that’s when you pay the piper for sins of yesterday. A cool song with a story everyone can connect with.
Faceless has a sick riff you can sink your teeth into. It’s a statement that we are facing a dystopian future that could send us rocketing backwards in time, not forward and upward like we’re meant to. The dream that has been sold to us for years. As far as the upper echelon of society goes, we are the faceless, we are the ones who suffer in a dictator’s world. This is an anthemic reminder of where we sit in “civil” society. This song is a favourite of mine. It packs a punch but is also reminiscent of where we are seen to be sitting in the bigger scheme of things. We are the Faceless.
Wanted Man is a heavy hitting, eardrum exploding, headbangers delight. Guitar slaying dynamite ready to explode at any time. “Every stranger is an enemy; every shadow is a friend”, a murderous tale of revenge and freedom to kill at will. A slaying song with the gusto of a knife plunging straight into your heart. I have to say it, this song is killer!
The eighth song on The Time Has Come is named Seven oddly enough. Fast, savage drums and guitars for days, Seven speaks to the inner schizophrenic in us all. You can feel the weight of the world upon the shoulders of each and every band member in this song. Martin Furia and Toon Huet slay the guitar parts, while Jorn Van der Straeten and Ward Van der Straeten slaughter the thumping bass and drums respectively. Ron Bruynseels conveys the struggle with his voice, feeling the pain with every word uttered. “Seven voices speak in my head”, that’s six too many for those of us playing. Among the best songs on the album.
Wildheart is the story of a man wanting to be himself, but then he meets a woman who comes into his life and wants to change the person he is. We males have taken part in that game at some point in our lives and it shits us to no end. We just want to be who we are and not have to cop shit for it. We don’t want or need to be changed, so ladies a piece of advice, if you like the person we are when you get with us, then that’s the person you get. Don’t try to change us, it’ll just piss us off and make us dig our heels in even more in an effort to not move an inch. “I take no shit”, words to live by.
Coming in at number 10, Lord of the Skies. Atmospheric, heavy and solid as a rock. In my opinion it has a little Dethklok about it and is a must hear on The Time Has Come. It’s a little different to the other songs on this album, but it still manages to fit like a glove. If you’re a fan of Dethklok, and who isn’t, you’ll love this song.
Wrath Unchained, a power chord laden track, with unbridled energy building to a fast, aggressive 2nd verse and powerful chorus. “It never fucking ends” perfectly encapsulates the feeling of this song. “Wrath Unchained, it’s in our veins” spells out the anger within the writer. Angry, hostile and hard hitting, this song will be a fun one live in the uncouth mosh pits of today, particularly at any festivals the band may be playing, like the Alcatraz Metal Festival in Kortrijk in August or Skallyfest in Halle at the end of May.
The final song on this monstrous album is The Curse from Above. The boys slow things down a little for the final song on The Time Has Come. “All the pain and fear was a curse from above”, I reckon the next time I have a jam, I’ll try this song. To be honest, I wish they went balls out for the last song. The rest of The Time Has Come is fast, hard and heavy, crushing at times. But this song brings down the aggression of the rest of the album and fades out with a bit less vigour. That’s not to say I didn’t like it, I just expected something heavier.
Final Verdict
The Time Has Come is a solid album for the Antwerp-based band. Fans of Bark are bound to love it, and I would encourage people who haven’t heard Bark before to give this album a listen. It was my first time hearing them and I very much enjoyed The Time Has Come.
MY RATING: 7.5/10
ParMetal’s Pick of the Pack: Wanted Man. So fucking good!
Give “The Time Has Come” the time-of-day guys. You won’t regret it.
