Metal Underground.com

Great riffs, powerful vocals, and catching yourself playing air guitar are good indicators of a great rock band. The Answer brings all that and more with their second full length album, "Everyday Demons." The band proves with this album that they really are coming into their own, and the album is already a contender for best rock album of the year.

The record opens with "Demon Eyes," which begins with a quiet but toe tapping riff, allowing front man Cormac Neeson to enter with his soon to be unmistakable voice. This is an absolutely fantastic opener, and follows the "calm before the storm" pattern of steadily building in energy. By the time you reach the chorus, you can't help but erupt with excitement at the sheer energy of it.This is rock and roll at its finest. Bring on the rest of the album!

"Demon Eyes" leads nicely into "Too Far Gone," which is reminiscent of bands such as Foo Fighters and Thin Lizzy, and is just as good as anything either band has done. Guitarist Paul Mahon really shows off his riffing skills on this track. He's able to create memorable riffs and fun melodies, and "Too Far Gone" is just one example of the man's undeniable talent. This song blows you away from start to finish and takes no prisoners along the way.

"Everyday Demons" is a breath of fresh air into a style that until now has sounded rather dated. The album doesn't stop rocking from beginning to end, and carries with it some influences not previously heard from this band or this genre. Songs such as "Pride" introduce a sound that is similar to the Brit pop bands of the nineties, coupled with seventies style stadium rock, served with a modern twist. The song gives a strange feeling of Deja Vu, reminding me of the hit "Where I Find My Heaven," by Gigolo Aunts. It also contains the kind of KISS sound that made people realize that the 70's icons did in fact know how to write good music. "Pride" is a highlight on an album filled with highs.

The blues element to this band hasn't gone away either. It can be heard on most of the tracks, but especially on songs such as "Cry Out," "Why'd You Change Your Mind," and "Tonight." The blues edge is a real treat for fans of bands from Free to Black Sabbath, who thought that the music they loved had become extinct. The album also contains a strong ballad in the form of "Comfort Zone," which sounds like it was made to be performed to sold out stadiums. The song has a strange relaxing quality to it, while not losing any of the balls the band have held onto throughout the album.

Overall, I can't find a single flaw with "Everyday Demons." I've listened to it a few times now, and it gets better with every listen, which is amazing considering how surprisingly good it was on the first spin. Already it has potential to be an "album of the year" candidate, and after putting out an album of this caliber, The Answer deserves all the fame and fortune in the world, and then some!