Album Review: The Deal

If his name sounds familiar, Michael Baxter also fronts the Tauranga punk/noise-pop band, The Dead Man 6 and The Knids.

The Deal is a 13 track slab of rock opera genius created from the confines of 2021’s lockdown and revels in honesty about anxiety and the extreme of relationships with the idea of making deals with the devil and the power of attraction and revenge.

This is story telling at its finest.

Beautifully crafted in every way that one would expect a rock opera to be, it also has a unique individuality that Michael Baxter and company have executed.

When you think of rock opera, there is an expectation for it to be grandiose and exceptional. Think of other famous rock operas, The Who’s Tommy, or Pink Floyd’s The Wall and even after the first listen to The Deal, it fits that mold, just on a local scale rather than international.

But, that element doesn’t matter. Not one bit when you have something that is this good.

It really is hard to pick favourite but Fires of Hell (Acceptance) is a no brainer. With a beautiful piano intro, vocalist Kingsley Smith really shines both vocally and lyrically – it’s stunning.

What an uplifting and stunning piece of work The Deal is. I hope that this could one day translate into a live show.