Yes, it's been a couple weeks since I had a brand new post for you guys, so I apologize that final exams are sucking the life out of me. But I do have a quick tidbit of sick news that will make up for everything.
Diamond Eye
NRN43 and Underground Takeover veterans Diamond Eye will be traveling to Los Angeles this summer to begin recording their debut full-length album with Grammy Award-winning producer Bob Kulick! Kulick's credentials range from production work the Motörhead (for which they won a Grammy in 2004), Dee Snider, Alice Cooper, KISS and more. I can't wait to hear what comes from these sessions. The Diamond Eye demo that I got my hands on a couple of years ago was certainly a promising start for this Australian powerhouse. Followed by the live DVD/CD Alive and Kicking, and more recently by the EP Sound of the Guns, the Diamond Eye demo, was my first peek into this band's inner core. Brace yourselves for a bombastic, octane-driven teleportation back to the glory days of metal. Diamond Eye are coming, there's no stopping these guys now!
You guys out there voted, and made your choices known. All the artists did amazing jobs raising votes, and just to let you know just how amazing all their efforts were, the hit count for NewRockNews43 jumped more than 7,000 hits in a matter of weeks! Though a little belated, the Pydromania winners are here finally! (And the reason for the slight wait? Not only new results, but brand new promos from a couple of the artists too!) From around the world, you guys all checked in and made sure that the artists you wanted walked away with the bragging rights of being the "Best of's" for another year. So without any further delay (as if you guys couldn't see the results yourself anyway haha), here are the 2011 Pydromania winners!! They are:
For 2011's Best Hard-Rock/Metal Artist:
Reapers Riddle
For 2011's Best Pop/Rock Artist:
Andy Gruhin
For 2011's Best Pop-Punk/Punk Artist:
Voted Most Random
For 2011's Best Electronic/Alternative Artist:
The Orkids
For 2011's Best Alternative-Rock Artist:
Fools For Rowan
Thank you to all the artists and fans who participated! This was an awesome contest, and you will definitely be hearing these groups getting massive airplay on my radio show, Underground Takeover! Who can't wait till next year, ha?!
You discovered them here first, and now Almost Kings is blowing up like a nuclear warhead and playing their first show of the year at the 2012 Grammy Awards!! The Marietta, GA quartet, which features axe-murderer lead-guitarist Ryan Yunker, hurricane-blast bassist Danny Helms, human beat-machine drummer Kevin Compton, and slick rhyme-schemer and lead vocalist/MC Bryan "Boze" Bozeman, beat out 916 other artists from around the country to nab the first place spot in the national contest. Mixing crunching guitar and soul-shattering rhythm with hook-filled hip-hop vocals, Almost Kings are more than just a club favorite in the Atlanta area: they're the next step in the rap-rock hybrid vein that made bands like Rage Against the Machine, Primus and Linkin Park international names.
Almost Kings' debut album: Filthy Nice
With their tearing rhythms and energy-filled choruses, Almost Kings have been a staple on my radio show Underground Takeover since its inception last year. Their song “Unstoppable” is the unofficial wrap-up, and with other songs like “Legend” and “Pornstar” on their debut album Filthy Nice, Almost Kings create a sound that is entirely impossible for people to ignore. I knew it was just a matter of time until these guys blew up, and now the whole country will know just what kind of hard-rock energy has been building just below the surface on the hot streets of Atlanta.
Boze’s vocals are slick, little whispers just before the roars come and rip the roof off of whatever club they’re playing at the time. His raps are smooth and beat-driven, and mashed against the bass-blasts that Danny Helms comes down with, there’s no way anyone in the audience is standing still. Ryan Yunker’s blistering guitar solos climb over the crunching feedback to drill through the ears of everyone jumping at this point, and bolstered by Kevin Compton’s gut-busting back-beats, the rhythm section of Almost Kings is so closely tied with the melody and energy that the finished product is incredible.
Clearly an example of a band getting their just desserts, Almost Kings are sure to blow the roof off the Grammy Awards next month. There are new Kings in town, and they’re simply unstoppable.
Hey all, to mark the end of a great year for NewRockNews43, I decided to start a new little tradition. With all the amazing groups we've heard and discovered this year, who do you think is the absolute best?! I'm calling it the Pydromania "Best of" Contest because these artists are so hot, they're cool (figure that one out if you can, ha!). Five categories, over 30 bands and artists, and more amazing songs than I can count that have shaped this year for NewRockNews43 and my brand new radio show Underground Takeover, so which artists really rocked the hardest?! The winning artists of each category will get a promo of their choosing displayed on the front page of NewRockNews43 as one of the first posts of the new year. They also will receive bragging rights not only for the whole year as being voted the best and hardest-rocking, but will receive bragging rights for being the FIRST artists to ever win this brand new annual contest. Winners may also receive amped airplay on my show Underground Takeover in Boston, so who's looking for some airplay?? ;D Polls are on the right side of the pages, and voting closes in just under 2 weeks, so get listening, and get voting!!
The nominees are:
For Best Hard-Rock/Metal Artist of 2011:
Diamond Eye
Tetrarch
Reapers Riddle
All I Know
Homebrewe
Into the Night
Almost Kings
The Swear
For Best Pop/Rock Artist of 2011:
Andy Gruhin
Cloé Beaudoin
The Head
Ratham Stone
Aerials
The Heartshakes
For Best Pop-Punk/Punk Artist of 2011:
Darling Parade
The Lightweights
Minds Without Purpose
The Honesty
Voted Most Random
Versus the Robot!
Start Up 45
For Best Electronic/Alternative Artist of 2011:
Lost In Atlantis
The Orkids
The Blue Pages
For Best Alternative-Rock Artist of 2011:
49 Stones
WeSurrender
Season to Attack
The Riot Tapes
The Life Review
Radagun
Sound Express
Death is a Dialogue
Fit For Rivals
LOVELOUD
Fools For Rowan
There they are guys, so keep the votes coming, and we'll cap off this year with an explosive bang! More articles to come, and I have some awesome reviews, interviews and lists coming, so keep rocking and we'll make 2011 the best year NewRockNews43 has seen yet!
I was way stoked to see this video up of Tetrarch's own Diamond Rowe announcing new plans for the metal foursome in 2012. According to Rowe (and as you can see in the video update), Tetrarch are planning to record at Audiohammer Studios, a mecca for new metal artists. In addition to the announced six-song EP, I'm also jumping to see the newly announced Tetrarch music video debut which according to Rowe is set to arise sometime next spring. Get pumped guys, Tetrarch are coming back hard!! Check out Diamond Rowe's video update below!
I'm super stoked to be the one to bring you coverage of this new EP today because it is going to tear your head off and leave you shaking in the wind. And that's just for starters.
Diamond Eye's debut EP, Sound of the Guns
Australia's Diamond Eye have been a band on my radar since I came across them in late 2009. Since then, I've been keeping up with every new release of the band, and every big event they've taken down in their path. Back in late '09, I got my hands on a copy of a rough demo that Diamond Eye used to gain some attention in the Perth heavy metal scene. To give you an idea of how rough this demo was, all it said on the front was Diamond Eye and Demo. But rough doesn't mean bad, and the minute I threw that demo on I was instantly hit by tracks of a caliber that blew my mind. Rough, yes, but holding so much promise, and as I listened to tracks like "Waiting for Me," "Machine," and "Holding On," all I could imagine was what it must have felt like listening to a rough Metallica or Iron Maiden demo before they took off. Secretly, I hoped that those three songs would see new rerecordings as Diamond Eye gained more clout (perhaps not so secretly, as I told lead guitarist Greg Fawcett that "Waiting for Me" was a sparkling diamond in the rough).
Last year saw the release of Diamond Eye's debut live DVD/album Alive and Kicking which I also happened to be able to get my hands on. Though the album showed extreme promise with tracks like "Atlantis" and a live recording of "Machine," one track stood above the others as the song that could not be ignored: "Sound of the Guns."
Diamond Eye; From left: Geoff Keating, Will Kelly, Greg Fawcett, and Chase Cameron
Now, finally, Diamond Eye have returned with their newest studio effort, the EP so rightly titled Sound of the Guns. Yes, the title track is on here, and yes the studio recording is more than I could have dreamed of. Greg Fawcett's lead guitar burns with the rage and determination of an axe on a mission, and as his riffs pepper the rhythmic drumbeats of Geoff Keating and bass-blasts of Chase Cameron, Diamond Eye have reached a new level altogether. From the start, "Sound of the Guns" sounds like a Metallica-influenced song with the bluff and bluster of a Maiden-lead charge. Will Kelly's vocals have improved even more since Alive and Kicking, and now his octave vocal wails are high above Keating's drums as Fawcett pick-slides into an altogether new rhythm. The best part about this song is that is changes halfway through, and in one song there are two great parts mashed together to provide a shrill nitro-explosion to your brain. As Kelly leads out on his vocal highs, the rhythm section follows suit as Fawcett solos until the very last seconds of this song. There is no way this track could have been done any better, and with a single like this, Diamond Eye cement their image as one of Perth's hardest rocking bands. Sound of the Guns also sees rerecorded versions of "Waiting for Me" (a fucking brilliant rerecording by the way, filled with more balls and gusto than most groups can muster on a whole album), "Atlantis," and "Machine," as well as a new track, "Closer to the Sun." The rerecorded version of "Waiting for Me" has all the balls of the demo amped up to 11 (ha!) with the same sick guitar solo that melted my face off the first time I listened to the demo. This song has only gotten better, and is a completely and undeniably brilliant track. "Atlantis" and "Machine" are more robust than they were previously, and with the new "Closer to the Sun" to round it out, Sound of the Guns is an explosive triumph for Diamond Eye. This EP has to be at the top of your must-hear list. No exceptions.
I've been waiting for months to report on this new group and now I'm finally gonna get the chance to show you guys some brand new music from the just-formed Season to Attack. Catalyzed from bits of the former Vancouver bands Mass Undergoe and Irreverents, Season to Attack is an assault with a melodic alternative edge that will grab you immediately and turn you inside out.
Formed by members David Isbister (lead vocals, and formerly of Mass Undergoe), Alan Calimbas (guitar, and formerly of Mass Undergoe), Jon Wu (guitar and vocals), Cory Wilson (bass), and Brian Badd (drums, and formerly of Irreverents), Season to Attack if one of, if not my most anticipated band to hear coming out of the Vancouver music scene. Experimenting with a new style of recording they call a 3P (a 3-song EP), STA released 3 new songs under the title Threads just yesterday, and oh man, are they prophetic (excitingly, the 3P will also include 3 video blogs for download along with the 3 audio tracks). "Finish Hymn!" and "Unrequited" showcase Isbister's roar of a voice and Wilson's prowess on the bass, but the song that really grabs me and screams lead-off single is "You Aren't Even Worth This Song."
A crystal clear vision of what's to come, "You Aren't Even Worth This Song" has everything the newest single for a band should have: it's got the hook of a guitar-driven chorus and the vocals to match. Isbister's voice is melodic and edgy, and as Calimbas and Wu blast through on dual walls of nitro-driven notes, I'm floored that the first release from a new band can be this brilliant. Halfway through, Wilson's bass lends a funk tone to the undercurrent of the song, and Badd's drumming is controlled chaos as Isbister brings it all home with that growl that I loved so much in Mass Undergoe. If this is a sign of things to come (and everything in my gut says it is), I can't wait to hear more. Season to Attack is going to be one of the biggest alternative sensations of the next year. Listen to "You Aren't Even Worth This Song" below!
I'm more than pleased to post here today the second in a new cache of coming reviews aimed at sating that thirst I know you've all been building for some time. I'm so excited about this particular band because their's is a sound I haven't heard done so well in some time, and I can't wait to hear what else comes blasting from their speakers on their next record.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Enter 49 Stones, a new alternative-rock powerhouse that will redefine everything you thought you knew about music in the post-Nirvana age. Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, 49 Stones stomps onto the scene in true hard-rock fashion. Comprising hard-rocking members Emma Jo (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Brett Cox (lead guitar and backing vocals), Garrett Cox (bass and backing vocals), and Kyle Scheel (drums), 49 Stones is a hurricane of alternative prowess, combining Pearl Jam-esque guitar solos with Garbage-inspired vocals and a Smashing Pumpkins-like rhythm section.
49 Stones; From left: Brett Cox, Emma Jo, Garrett Cox, Kyle Scheel
From the start of their debut album Turn It On, 49 Stones has something unique that just drives me to crank the volume up all the way. The first song I listen to from the record is also my immediate favorite. "Crowded" is the song that I'd bet my teeth on is going to launch this band into the stratosphere. The second the meters start ticking, Emma's vocals are haunting and soul-splitting, slick and sultry, but brutal and definitely not to be trifled with. With Garrett Cox's bassline-blasts like cannon-fire coming down around me, Scheel's intense drumming keeps me moving hard through the night of this heavy masterpiece. Cymbal-cracks and snare-snaps ring back against the bass-pumps, and all the while Emma's voice is riding shotgun high and mighty. Then out of nowhere comes Brett Cox's high-octane guitar in a searing spectacle, shredding off whatever preconceptions I might have had before. One of my favorite parts about this song is hearing Brett Cox just make that guitar scream halfway into each chorus. There is nothing I've heard since Alice in Chains that is so hauntingly brilliant, and that would simply be enough for this song to be a number one hit. But 49 Stones are only halfway done, and just as Emma's vocals of "let's dance" ring out, Garrett Cox lets loose on a bass-solo that completely blows my mind. Yes bassists can solo, and fuckin' A does this guy pull it off! With Scheel blasting on his snare in time, the Cox-Scheel rhythm section is one for all other bands to be jealous of. As I sail into the last minute of the song riding the coattails of Brett Cox's guitar notes, Emma has to blow my mind just one more time. The carnal shriek that this girl rings from her body literally makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. What a wail this girl has, and she nails every single fucking bit of it! "Crowded" has been on repeat in my iTunes since I got this album, and all I can say is that this song is Garbage-meets-Alice in Chains in a cataclysmic mashup of shear power.
49 Stones' debut album, Turn It On
"Are You Listening" has a more hard-rock crunch than "Crowded," but still emits an alternative vibe in Emma's smooth yet firm vocal roar, and alongside Brett Cox's fretwork, 49 Stones make this one of their best performances. Scheel is going crazy all over his kit, and the 3 Doors Down-esque tempo set up by the Cox twins and Emma just kicks down anything standing in their way. Emma's voice is like a sonic battering ram, crashing through my senses like an earthquake of raw power.
Then the earthquake turns into a tsunami of epic proportions as I move to "Indigo," and Emma trades up her battering-ram vocals for something different. With Brett Cox's guitar notes ringing high overhead, Scheel keeps time as my face melts off, skewered by these soon-to-be alternative-rock gods. Another five-star track on an album of five-star tracks, "Indigo" just solidifies my belief in this band.
With other mind-blowing feets showing up all over the album, 49 Stones continue to impress me. Brett Cox's guitar solo on "Devil All Along" is not to ignored in the slightest, and the rhythm team of Garrett Cox and Kyle Scheel bangs life into all parts of this album. Emma's breathy vocals continue to blow my mind even after the album is done, and I have to play it again just to make sure I didn't miss a single thing. The heavy tapestry woven throughout Turn It On is vivid and powerful, and a critical force to be reckoned with. If you're looking for the next big thing on the alternative rock scene, here they are: loud, brash, and brilliant.
Sounds Like: Garbage, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, 3 Doors Down
Key Tracks from Turn It On: "Crowded," "Are You Listening," "Indigo," "Chelsea," "Cruel and Unusual"
Premiering two nights ago on October 16, 2001, on live Australian TV, Diamond Eye provided a rousing performance of their song "Sound of the Guns" for throngs of metal fans. With the brash stage presence of Will Kelly on lead vocals and Greg Fawcett on lead guitar, the axe-men are driven further by the rhythm team of Chase Cameron on bass and Geoff Keating on drums. Diamond Eye's Metallica-meets-Van Halen sound proves that real stadium metal is alive and well. Check it out: for a television debut, this is what every band strives for.
Just another sick collaboration from the same core groups of musicians that brought us a cover of Seether's song "Broken." Released just a few weeks ago, this collaboration just serves to further the future of where music is going. Sick instrumentation, great vocals, and n awesome new song dynamic. Check it out.
It seems like I've watched this video hundreds of times already and it still gives me chills. When I first found this video on Youtube (completely by accident mind you) I was shocked, intrigued, and most of all, excited for the new possibilities it creates. The video? A full-band cover of Nirvana's "Come as You Are." But that's not the cool thing. What's so brilliant in this rendition of Nirvana's classic song is that every one of these musicians is in a different area of the country (or the world!) and they put this collaboration together completely through Youtube and the internet. I'm reminded of the musical group Florence + the Machine, where the only real member of the group (as in Nine Inch Nails) is English singer Florence Welch. Using a rotating roster of musicians, Welch creates new sounds for every song and album, assuring her music to be some of the most experimental and unique in the modern music world.
Now I'm struck again by musicians taking this idea one step further. Gone are the days of the traditional studio where tracking is done and laid down as one band member plays and the others wait outside. With the tools of the internet and sites like Youtube and Facebook, we've entered a new arena of music collaboration that is sure to be of mind-blowing proportions. As I could say very poetically, I have seen the future of the music industry, and it's the internet.
The first of these collaborations that you have to check out is the cover of Nirvana's "Come as You Are." Featuring the musical talents of Niloy63 on lead vocals, jtodd900 on guitar, jakamake on drums, and with production and bass by tydogg2443 (yes, I only know these guys by their Youtube screen names, and I'm not phased at all by that), this cover of "Come as You Are" is one of the best I've ever heard. Ever.
The intro riff by jtodd900 and tydogg2443 is just as crisp and gripping as the original, albeit with a more prophetic twist to it, like Kurt Cobain's spirit is playing the chords itself. Novoselic's bass-vibe is completely ingrained in tydogg2443's bass rumbles, and as jakamake chimes in on the cymbals, it's eery to be listening to this as a cover; it almost sounds like the original.
But what pushes it over the top for me is Niloy63's vocals: gruff, serrated, and perfectly tuned for the song, Niloy63 could very well be the next great post-grunge vocalist to come out of the underground. His voice gives me chills as I can hear Cobain's wails in the chorus just before jtodd900 talks control and swoons into a blurry and surreal guitar solo. If ever there was a cover to put on a Nirvana tribute album, this is it. In the year of the 20th anniversary of Nevermind, there is nothing so surreal and epic as finding a cover that embodies completely Nirvana's soul and power.
But the cover of "Come as You Are" isn't the only cover by this group of musicians that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. A couple of them also participated in a cover of Seether's song "Broken," which featured Amy Lee of Evanescence on guest vocals. For this cover, the lineup is TheTellTaleHeart25 on lead and acoustic guitar, Niloy63 on lead vocals, jtodd900 on rhythm guitar, chusma0 on lead female vocals, tydogg2443 on bass, and jakamake on drums. Again this cover blows me away. The collaboration between each of the musicians is so tight and easy that the flow of the cover makes it seem like their original composition.
The acoustic plucks by TheTellTaleHeart25 showcase a soft touch that builds to a blasting crescendo by the guitar solo later on, and with crashing rhythm support by jtodd900, the guitar section of this song is commendable at worst. At best, it's a tightly-knit flurry of notes and chords that takes me away in a storm of sonic progression. The rhythm section, made up once again of tydogg2443 and and jakamake is pulled-together to create a rushing and blasting feel at all the right parts of the song. Supporting the vocals of Niloy63 and chusma0, the guitar and rhythm sections of the collaboration are brilliant.
Just on top of the instrumentation are Niloy63's and chusma0's intertwining voices that create a fluttering tapestry of epic proportions. With Niloy63 adding to the song a gruff and edgy vibe, chusma0 lets loose with a crashing wail that exhibits this girl's incredible talent. If I were in need of a female vocalist for my band, this would be the first girl I'd go to.
Other covers like one of Audioslave's "Like a Stone" (featuring jtodd900 on guitar again, tydogg2443 on bass (and with production credits), Wannabesi on lead vocals, and jakamake on drums) and one of Alice in Chains' "Rooster" (also with tydogg2443 on bass and production, Pinner420420 on lead vocals, Craigman65 on lead guitar, and DCdrummer25 on drums) showcase just how far these new collaborations are going. What's most exciting, though, are the possibilities that I see jumping from these covers and collaborations. Now, artists can collaborate with each other, with anyone, no matter what the distance or obstacles. Soon the reality will be that artists are collaborating in musical and production projects all over the world, the the guitar player in Boston, the bassist in Johannesburg, the drummer in London, the singer in Toronto, and the producer in Los Angeles. The exciting new possibilities just over the horizon are mind-boggling: soon we'll see a new explosion of music the likes of which could never have imagined.
A new era has arrived. The music market we once knew will be history, replaced by a global music market-exchange system where any and every type of musical expression will now be given full coverage. Artists will now find each other and begin the create volumes of music with each other leading to forms of artistic expression not seen on such a level since the Renaissance. This is a new Renaissance in musical and artistic creation, and I can't wait to see what comes from it. This is going to be brilliant.
A little bit after the fact with this update (and for that I do apologize), I've had it on my mental list to give you guys this review for a few months now. The last time Australian rockers Diamond Eye made headlines here, they were on track to open for Quiet Riot and Warrant (RIP Jani Lane) on their Australian metal tour last spring. Though it seems that those plans fell through as Quiet Riot and Warrant decided to cancel the planned tour, Diamond Eye charged ahead with their own projects, recording new material and playing tons of new shows. The result of such a dedicated effort came in the form of the band's first recording of live material, the live DVD album Alive and Kicking. Though it came out last winter, I've been listening (and watching) Alive and Kicking all spring and summer long, and I gotta say it rocks fucking hard.
With fan-favorites like "Machine" and "Waiting for Me" on the set-list, the band also debuted a number of new songs that have been on constant rotation in my library ever since I heard them. My favorite of the new tracks by far is "Sound of the Guns," a straight-up metal thrash-down that kicks up dust and whips it around through rhythm changes and true metal musicianship. Will Kelly's lead vocals on this track provide an anthemic rise to the song. Stadium-suited but not polished off of their gritty, street-smart attitude, Kelly's wails put fists in the air as the fans chant along with him. Just below his raging belts, Greg Fawcett's lead guitar shrieks make this the five-star track on the album. A melodic and catchy guitar progression turns to a nasty and sick sonic firestorm as the tempo of the song changes halfway through, and all of a sudden Fawcett's guitar thrusts out a new, edgy rhythm. With Chase Cameron and Geoff Keating following suit in hard-rock fashion on bass and drums respectively, Diamond Eye pull off a mental seizure of a song; I'm left brain-dead as the guitars and drums blast out, and the stage goes dark. Check out the teaser video for "Sound of the Guns" below.
Other new songs like "Atlantis" and "Last One Standing" also grace the album, and with a power like this, Diamond Eye's first live recording is a major success. But it's not just the audio that gets me. With the accompanying DVD, I can see Diamond Eye in real time, rocking forward and blasting through walls as they take the audience on balls-to-the-wall ride through true metal. Between the pyro explosions on stage and the presence of the band members, Diamond Eye make it clear that they know how to have a good time and give the people what they really want: a real rock show. Seeing them in their element with sound waves and pyros blasting around them, I'm reminded of the first time I ever saw a clip of KISS, Alice Cooper or Van Halen: just feel-good metal with real, abrasive stage presence. Alive and Kicking is Diamond Eye's first real strike at the metal underground. Well-produced, ballsy, and robust, Diamond Eye's first crack at a live album (a live DVD album, no less) is one to be championed by fans and scouts alike. Crystal clear from the raw energy that blasts from Diamond Eye's guns like raining cannon-fire, Alive and Kicking is only the first of edgy albums to be expected from these Australian rockers. Keep your eyes out and your ears open, and check out this incredible live DVD album. I have never seen or heard something so well-produced and fulfilling from any underground band before, and that's the truth.
In an age where the quality of a band is so many times measured by the number of heads rounding out its lineup, there are few groups that find the strength to soldier on in the true rock fashion of the DIY ethic. Gone are the days of the revered power-trios that blasted out tunes that sounded like full-scale warfare only to shock us to our cores when we realized it was only two or three guys. The reign of bands like Rush and Cream ended long ago, and although they sit forever atop the hill of everything that classic rock and heavy metal is based on, there have only been temporary stop-gaps (like those with The White Stripes and The Kills) where the smaller rock unit has taken the power back.
Yet new heroes are rising every day, and among these are the duo-rockers of Bass Drum of Death, an alternative/grunge machine from the Deep South that's dirtying up the clean and polished pop of the current decade. A project that started as a solo outlet for lead vocalist/guitarist John Barrett, Bass Drum soon started gaining steam and it was time to find a more permanent seat on the drums. Enter Colin Sneed, the new gut-buster behind the kit letting loose in blistering roughness as Barrett throws back riff after riff like whiskey shots on his guitar. A two-man team set to take over the alternative underground, Bass Drum of Death are more than what they seem upon first glance; the group moves uncomfortably away from the Black Keys comparison.
And I'm inclined to agree. The two-man comparison aside, Bass Drum's serrated alternative/grunge sound does little to stir a thought of the Black Keys' blues-punk notes. In fact, the more I listen to them, I think more of very early White Stripes and the gritty grunge of Green River and Mudhoney. Finding a small, albeit grungy, abode in late 80s' grunge mixed with early 90s' garage-punk, Bass Drum carve out a niche all their own among the new alternative powers taking flight.
Songs like "Heart Attack Kid" and "Get Found" from their most recent effort GB City solidify just what these grunge rockers are about. The riff on "Heart Attack Kid" is simple, repetitive, and hypnotic in the best ways. As Barrett's voice bleeds through the speakers backed by Sneed's head pounding drums, Bass Drum prove themselves a force to be reckoned with. Vocally, it sounds to me as if Barrett is using a butterfly-mic (like Jack White has done so many times), but maybe it's just me. Whatever it is, by the time he reaches the splintering solo, it sound like his guitar is screaming for release, and man does he give it. The attitude that Barrett and Sneed let loose on "Heart Attack Kid" make it one of the must-hear tracks from the album.
Yet even among the grunged-out tuneful tracks of "Heart Attack Kid" and the equally riveting "Young Pros" (a song that serves only to further Bass Drum's party atmosphere, though only in the best way) sits "Get Found," a track that sticks out like a black thorn from a blood-red rose. Clearly I'm not the only one with this opinion, though, as Bass Drum opted to make "Get Found" the center track for their first music video, and performed the song live on The Daily Habit. What strikes me watching the live performance are the movements of the two rockers up on stage: Sneed goes at his kit with the look of controlled fury on his face, and Barrett himself seems just to hide everything, literally. Hair hanging down like a new-age Kurt Cobain, all of my attention is drawn to Barrett's right hand, shredding away on his light blue axe. Truly Cobain would have found Bass Drum to his liking, hovering mesmerizingly between garage-rock sneer and pop-song dynamics.
But it's the power that emanates from Barrett and Sneed that truly make up their sound. I've always been of the opinion that I don't give a fuck how many people make up the band so long as the music rocks hard. Here, Bass Drum of Death have succeeded in letting loose a serrated album with teeth enough to rip you apart and still leave you wanting more. Their music may be muddy and dirty, gritty and grunged-out, but Bass Drum know what their doing, and their rewriting all the rules on what alternative-rock and grunge sound like with every performance. Keep your ears peeled for these guys, and if they start to bleed, then you know something awesomely sick is just over the horizon.
Sounds Like: The White Stripes, Middle Class Rut, Green River, Mudhoney
Like a scene right out of Hitchcock's thriller Psycho, Marion Crane burst onto the Florida stage with razor-sharp fangs bared and blood dripping down. A not-so-subtle mix of hard-rock grit and alternative-metal sneer, Marion Crane are just what summer called for: a hard-edged blade rusted over with the sonic samples of insanity.
Composed of S. Thomas Crane (lead vocals and guitar), Chris Stanton (lead guitar and vocals), Henry Black (bass and vocals), and Adam Tillis (drums), Marion Crane are a frost-bitten hand reaching up from beneath the bedrock of fear and darkness to grip your very soul before shaking you with a power and fury that seems won't be ignored. Metallic in their instrumental execution and grunge-laden in their vocal presentation, Marion Crane prove from the start that they have something to say as they open up every scar we have and show what lies just beneath the surface.
With guitar work by Jasper Judge, Marion Crane's debut album Kamikaze graced the sound systems of hard-rockers everywhere starting in April on last year. The 2010 release is something that floors me, because as I listen to tracks like "DNR," "Bullet" and the title-track, this sounds like a sophomore follow-up that was carefully crafted to blast the doors open after a debut got their foot just in the door. Both the instrumentation and the production on Kamikaze (courtesy of Stan Martell, who engineered the recording, mixing, and production of the album), are clean and clear, are hard-hitting in the best ways. Yet the track on the album that really stands out to me, besides the title-track, is "Illegitimate," a balls-gripping song that acts as dynamite stick in the nuclear reactor for Marion Crane's career.
Blasting forth in a brash firestorm of notes and chords, "Illegitimate" has clearly got to be Marion Crane's first single. A stew of S. Thomas Crane's serrated vocals and the blasting rhythm partnership of Henry Black's bass and Adam Tillis's drums, "Illegitimate" takes me to all-new heights when Judge's chords rip through the speakers to stab me through the heart with a force and power I can't help but embrace. If the sick music video isn't enough to convince you that these guys mean business, then Crane's half screaming/half growling vocals will prove that Marion Crane are on their way to the top of the post-grunge/alternative circuit. The best parts of "Illegitimate" are tied up together: as Crane's shakes all sense from my head with his fierce growls, Tillis is pounding that stake further through my heart with his bone-breaking beats as Black's bass crushes my head in a rusted vice. If there is one stand-out track on Kamikaze (and personally I think there are two, as the title-track is pretty core too), "Illegitimate" takes the cake in a fury that is frightening in power. Kamikaze, though, is just Marion Crane's first number, as since its release, two more soul-crushing songs have appeared in the Crane catalog: "M.M.M." and "The New Religion." "M.M.M.," like "Illegitimate" and "Kamikaze," comes with its own stitch-splitting music video directed by S. Thomas Crane and filmed by Henry Black. One of the things that stands out on the two new tracks is the guitar work, now in the hands of Chris Stanton. Crystal clear on "M.M.M.," Stanton is determined to stamp his own mark on the already rising Marion Crane legacy. Relying on crunching chords and a biting note progression, Stanton drives Marion Crane's sound to new heights as Tillis goes apocalyptic on his drums with Black following suit on bass. Crane's vocals brush up against the walls, scraping for release from their insane asylum in a pseudo-whispered haunting tone that throws back to Marilyn Manson and Layne Staley from Alice in Chains. Perhaps more like Staley than Manson, though, Crane's vocal execution dances over the Pixies' loud-quiet-loud dynamic, growing from a creepy growl during the verses to a full-fledged roar at the beginning of each chorus. That roar launches Marion Crane into a stinging guitar solo played out by Stanton, and in a matter of mere minutes, "M.M.M." is solidified in the Marion Crane catalog forever after.
But Marion Crane have a couple more tricks up their sleeve, and one of the best ones is called "The New Religion." A slightly more driven track than "M.M.M.," Stanton handles guitar work on this one as well. From the start, one of the best things about this song is the dynamic between the vocals and rhythm section. Black's bass is on point, screwing nuts and bolts into my skull as Tillis pushes full-throttle on his kit and kicks me home with a simple, but oh-so-grinding beat. With Stanton and Crane (whose vocals are the epitome of post-grunge/alternative-metal choice) shredding up their frets and strings in hard-rock fashion, "The New Religion" is the new target for all aspiring alternative-metal bands (and is the music isn't enough to drive you over the edge, the lyrics will rip right through you).
Over and over again, Marion Crane have proved that they mean business, and with the singles "The New Religion," "M.M.M.," "Illegitimate," and "Kamikaze," (not to mention the hardcore music videos for the last three), it's clear that these guys are not ones you would wanna meet in a dark alley at night. Like the lines in "The New Religion" go, I've "found the new addiction," and that new addiction's name is Marion Crane. Insane and psychotic like only the best hard-rock bands can be, Marion Crane is completely unhinged, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't think they would either.
Sounds Like: Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Three Days Grace, Staind, Chevelle
Key Tracks from Kamikaze, and Other Singles (Respectively): "Illegitimate," "Kamikaze," "M.M.M.," "The New Religion"
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