Every once in a while it is always nice to get a break from the heaviest of heavy music to just enjoy some nice hard rock for cruising in the summer time. Rubikon has created an album perfect for such a scenario in Delta (Round Hill Records). The Boston-based group does a pretty good job with mixing influences from the blues realm and the southern style metal world. Like some cheeses, Delta gets better with age as I found myself enjoying this album a bit more with each listen. Each track carries its own characteristics and overall feel that allows the entire album to feel fresh track by track. Of course the one down side to this as a writer is trying to determine which songs are on the list of favorites when each song is vastly different from the previous.

Right off the bat, ‘Live That Lie’ hits you with everything Rubikon is made of. The guitar work is catchy, bass can actually be heard and grooves well, and the vocals are certainly at sing-a-long status being memorable and fun. There are also a few keyboard passages, typically in the chorus, that help glue all of the parts together. ‘Swingers’ provides one of the more bluesy tracks from Delta and may or may not be about going to swinger parties. The track is slow, heavy, guitars utilize slide to add that southern “twang” for lack of a better term, and even includes the use of a harmonica solo towards the end which puts the icing on the cake. ‘Wasting Time’ is a ride of a track that starts off like an acoustic campfire song and escalates into a heavy outro. The overall groove of this song kept my head bobbing around to the bass but then started banging right as the distortion hit at the end.

While my first few plays through Delta did not overly impress me, it did end up growing on me after a few more tries. The overall laid back feel that Rubikon delivers through this album is the biggest upside for me which not many, if any, heavier bands are able to provide nowadays. If you are having a pool party or cook out in this second half of the summer, press play on this album, crack open a nice cold one, and enjoy before the winter returns.

7.0/10

TIM LEDIN