ALBUM REVIEW: Janus Stark – Face Your Biggest Fear
(Time And Matter Records)
Janus Stark are the brainchild of guitar virtuoso Gizz Butt, who has played in loads of bands, most famously The Prodigy in their peak 1990s Fat Of The Land era.
He’s also been in punk/metal bands such as English Dogs, The Destructors, Sundance, The More I See and Pyogenesis, but Janus Stark is very much his band.
Formed in the late 90s, their debut album Great Adventure Cigar was released in 1998, but they’re not exactly prolific; it took until 2019 for them to release the follow-up proper, Angel In The Flames.
Janus Stark seem to have found a home on Time & Matter Records, which also released a reimagined version of their debut album and a ‘lost’ album of 2002 studio demos a couple of years ago.
Revisiting his past must have unearthed a rich seam of inspiration for Peterborough rocker Gizz, for here we are again just three years later with album number three – and what a record!
Written during the pandemic, Face Your Biggest Fear isn’t out and out punk, rather 11 slices of powerful melodic rock, and some of his guitar work is absolutely stunning.
Vocally, Gizz reminds me a little of Johnny Marr, and he’s assembled a great band consisting of David Pistolas (rhythm guitar), Si Martin (bass) and Fozzy (drums).
They’re firing on all cylinders from the get-go, and the pace never lets up. It bursts into action with the excellent Father Time, about making the most of time with your loved ones, which is quickly followed by the pandemic-inspired Rollin’ With The Punches, which is just as packed with hard-hitting riffs.
I Don’t Want Your Sympathy sees him go full-on heavy metal with some superb soloing, while the ghetto tale Eddie N Larkin has lots of melody and more great squalling guitar.
Side one closer Clusterfuck is the punkiest song here and a live favourite already, while Reassuring, which opens side two, is another real earworm – and a contender for best song on the album – and there’s a few.
Mariana Trench is set to a frantic rockabilly beat, despite being about depression, while Stick recalls the twin guitar sound of Thin Lizzy while delivering the blunt message “there’s two sides to the story, and in both of them you’re a dick.”
Things come to a more contemplative close with Shoot Me If I Don’t Have The Right, which could be a Foo Fighters-Paul McCartney collaboration.
This is an album from a staggering talent who’s right at the top of his game, and the first thing you want to do when it ends is jump back on the rollercoaster and listen to the whole thing again. 9/10.
- Face Your Biggest Fear is available on CD, coloured vinyl and digital download from the Janus Stark’s Bandcamp page HERE.
