Fioraidh – ‘An Unquiet Mind’ Album review

Having some time on his hands between writing and recording Pyrolclast’s next album, Reid decided to bring to life some of his other musical ideas, writing all the lyrics and music and playing every instrument himself, with a few pals chipping in with a guitar solo now and again. The result of this blast of creativity is ‘An Unquiet Mind’, which was also produced and mastered by Reid. A solo album… almost literally!

Opener ‘Ghost in the Now’ is a heavy, moody, mid-tempo rocker with prominent bass driving the track along and flourishes of keyboard and piano sprinkling some additional musical atmosphere. Pyroclast’s Chris Horne guests on the short guitar solo, whilst Reid’s voice builds in intensity throughout the track, ending in an impressively high final vocal with a duration that Bill Withers would be proud of!

‘Devil’s Inside’ has the kind of dark, heavy riff that Tony Iommi would’ve created in Dio-era Black Sabbath. Soft, low, growling vocals spread throughout the track bring some real horror movie-like intensity, whilst the impressive ‘Fractured’ (my personal favourite) starts with Iron Maiden Virtual XI vibes before exploding into a sprawling and melodic ‘fists in the air’ musical tour-de-force with guitar solos by Pyroclast’s Baz Fitzsimmons. The sudden change of timing and tempo towards the end will take you by surprise… but is a nod to Reid’s affinity for more progressive music.

If Bruce Dickinson’s singing with Danish masters Volbeat is your musical fantasy, then ‘Roll the Dice’ is for you. After a riff-heavy opening, Reid’s impressive vocal range is on display throughout, challenging the Iron Maiden frontman’s vocal skills during the chorus whilst managing to find room to fit the word “procrastination” into the lyrics, something that I can say with great certainty is a rarity in any genre! ‘When the Night She Fades’ starts with some serious cinematic atmosphere. Think dark, grimy LA streets under a freeway and a long way from the glitz and glamour of Rodeo Drive, with police sirens in the night air. The bass is again prominent (something that happens throughout this album) before the intro bursts into one of the tastiest riffs I’ve heard in a while. To me, this is a delicious and heavy slice of prime-time hard rock as opposed to the metal our hero is more known for. Riffs, bass, keyboards, a slow burning guitar solo… it’s musical drama at its best!

‘Change of Reasons’ is the bastard child of Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ during the intro… but from there, don’t even try to track the timing or intensity. Just enjoy the ride! Slow and moody one moment, fast and heavy the next. Low and quiet vocals one moment, soaring high the next… with a guitar solo by Graham McLeod. Penultimate track ‘Chimaera’ is pure progressive rock and metal in the vein of Canadian legends Rush… but with the heaviness tripled and without Geddy Lee’s screeching vocals. The dancing bass and extraordinary drumming throughout, the time signature changes, the keyboard and guitar solos (by Chris Horne again!) all point to the rock and roll hall of famers.

Final track ‘Obedience in the Void’ is another Tony Iommi-style heavy riff with a modern sheen. Black Sabbath-like doom bells set the tone for what’s to come; a dark, brooding, heavy track that when played loud, will literally shake your hifi speakers (trust me… I know!). Scrape away the riff and the keyboard effects and you’ll still find lots of melody… and even a rare vocal effect towards the end, like the one used on Cher’s pop hit ‘Believe’. Ok… it’s nothing like Cher… but listen and you’ll understand what I mean! Clocking in at just over five a half minutes, it’s the type of epic track that will always be a perfect end to an album… and the operatic choir effects in the closing bars confirm that!

As the title suggests, there’s nothing quiet about ‘An Unquiet Mind’. It’s a powerful, riff-filled, heavy yet melodic insight into the wonderfully noisy mind of an incredibly creative soul! It’s metal… but there’s definite nods to prog and the more melodic end of hard rock. This Fioraidh deserves to be more popular than Tyson, so do yourself a favour and head to your streaming service of choice and hit play on ‘An Unquiet Mind’. When you’re done, hit play again! Even better, go old school and head over to Fioraidh’s Bandcamp page to order yourself a t-shirt and CD… and take a look at all the other Fioraidh albums available.

I’ll be Fioraidh-ous if you don’t!