For those who remember Karl Agell and Phil Swisher from
Corrosion of Conformity (COC), one cannot stress enough that COC and
Leadfoot are two very different bands. You won't find a trace of thrash metal or hardcore punk on
Take a Look,
Leadfoot's second album, nor will you find a heavy sociopolitical agenda. What you will find are a lot of slow, gritty hard rock grooves with Southern leanings -- when the Raleigh, NC-based band rips into Southern-fried numbers like "Blowhole," "Unkind" and the single "Redline," it's obvious that singer Agell and bassist Swisher have long since left COC in the past. Some of the grooves illustrate
Leadfoot's appreciation of
ZZ Top and
Lynyrd Skynyrd, and
Leadfoot's Internet website celebrated the Southern connection by exalting the band's previous album,
Bring It On, as a "redneck masterpiece." While using a word as strong as "masterpiece" to describe
Leadfoot's material is going overboard,
Take a Look is solid, enjoyable and certainly rockin'. ~ Alex Henderson