X-Method "Sex, Alcohol, Rebel Music"

    The title of this album, "Sex, Alcohol, Rebel Music," sort of gives you an idea about what X-Method's music is all about. Hearing an X-Method song for the first time is like getting a stone cold stunner from Steve Austin with JR in the background screaming, “Oh My God!” X-Method does not mess around and their style of hard rock/heavy metal gets right down to business. Also, these guys can throw a curve ball once in blue moon and they know how to write very powerful mellow sounding songs. Plus, there are sixteen songs on this full-length release, so you have plenty of opportunities to bang your head, drink a few beers and raise some hell. 

    Now, this is not my first encounter with the Bay Area based band. I saw them perform last year at a show alongside some local Sonoma County acts. X-Method really took me by surprise during their set and the passion that comes from these dudes is unbelievable. The band’s lead singer Abby is a solid frontman that knows how to deliver some crushing lyrics while being a true bad ass onstage. I think the entire band sounds tight which makes for some great music overall. 

    To begin, some of the songs on this release I have heard before when I saw them live and then there are a fair amount I first heard when doing this review. You have a lot to choose from, which I will say sort of happens when you have an album with so much material. Unfortunately, there are certain tracks I tend to glance over, because the ones that standout just seem capture my attention more. As I eluded to earlier, you can’t just simply call X-Method a hard rock or heavy metal. These guys blend hard rock and metal elements into their music, however, they never venture into territories where you would be taken by complete surprise. “Denied What’s Ours,” begins with an epic acoustic riff that morphs into an avalanche of chaotic guitar riff fury. The drumming kicks into high gear and the band puts their foot on the gas pedal. It is one of the more thrash like songs on the album and Abby’s vocals really inject an extra bite of raw aggression into the music. 

    Following the intensity of the first track, the album’s second song, “Brutal As Fuck,” kind of gives you an idea of how that song sounds. It is Brutal as Fuck! (I bet you are all thinking, thank you captain obvious...) Anyway, the track right after, “When Darkness Falls,” is one of those curve balls. The guitars create a more melodic vibe and the vocals mellow out for a bit. This is just a really well written song that uses a simple verse riff to lead up to a very soothing chorus. Another mellow song that can get pretty heavy at times was, “Waiting For the Rain.” The vocal performance matched with the acoustic arrangement is brilliantly executed. I especially liked the guitar solo which perfectly compliments the song’s deep emotional tone. 

    Other songs that I liked which I thought fit well with album’s title were “Southern Comfort” and “Fuck Sobriety.” I thought the punk vibe that, “Fuck Sobriety,” offered up was really adrenaline pumping. I can just see them playing that song live with a gigantic pit forming full of headbangers and punks going bat shit crazy. Lastly, they have a song on here called, "No Tey Vayas," which is sung in Spanish I believe. X-Method is kind of big down in Peru and the Latin America region, so I thought that was very cool. 

    In the end, X-Method gives listeners so much to take away from their album, “Sex, Alcohol, Rebel Music.” Even if one track really does not grab you, there are so many songs on this album that are simply well written to where you will find something that fits your hard rock and metal mood. I commend X-Method for their hard work and know they will relentlessly tour and raise hell once the album is released...It comes out in a couple days... so VERY soon! 

Preview a song from X-Method below:

X-Method Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/xmethod1/?fref=ts

Concert Review: Metaluma 2016

Trecelence

    After many years of heavy metal history where bands like Metallica back in the day would play to young ravenous crowds, the Phoenix Theater hosted a festival that happened to be appropriately titled. “Metaluma 2016,” featured four tremendous metal bands from San Francisco and the local area. You had hard rockers Sweet Addiction from Santa Rosa, Sonoma County die hard thrash warriors Trecelence, Space Vacation from hailing from SF, and headlining the show was classic metal worshippers Hell Fire from SF. Plus, that disco roller skating dude who wears the unitard showed up and made his presence known. Yes my readers, this is a festival to talk about for many years...or, until next years Metaluma Fest when the spandex saxophone dude who plays, “Careless Whisper,” shows up...

    Upon arriving at the historic venue, I was glad to see the metal maniacs hanging around the venue looking determined to get inside and bang their heads to the four metal acts who were billed for the evening. This was a very solid line-up and I think having a metal fest/show at the Phoenix Theater is always a good idea. I must say that seeing the wall of Marshall amplifiers already on the stage was a positive selling point for a metal show. Hell, I bet people could hear the music from about a block away! 

    Opening the show with lights flashing and guitars blasting out massive amounts of distortion was Sweet Addiction. These guys came ready to rock and roll in arena rock like style. I thought they had a very impressive stage production going on, but the band seemed to be mixed too loud in my opinion and the riffs at times were muffled. They seem to have very catchy hard rock sounding songs, which went over well with the audience. Their singer reminded me of a young Axl Rose with the scarf hanging over his mic stand and he was also a solid frontman overall. At least unlike Axl, this guy showed up on time and he never threw a tantrum onstage. The band added in a decent cover of Black Sabbath’s, “Paranoid,” towards the end of their set and the crowd was wildly singing along. I thought they did a solid job opening the show and deserved to open some beers after they finished their set. 

Sweet Addiction 

    Second up and representing the Sonoma County Metal Community with youthful passion and impressive instrumental skills was Trecelence. Last time I saw these guys was back in February, so I was interested in hearing some of the new songs that will be featured on their debut full-length album that comes out in the fall (totally not a plug...). They also had played the previous night, which I think shows their passion for the music and hard work ethic when it comes to playing live. Tonight the band put on an overall kick ass set with a few moments where I could not hear certain members due to slight monitor and sound issues. Also, drummer Ilan Cabrera had one of those attack of the drum kit moments, but rebounded with great precision and determination when playing through the rest of the songs. The guitar playing from both Chris Olney Burnett and Donnie Small was nothing short of insane and brilliant at times. I seriously don’t know how they can rip through scales while banging their heads and then suddenly transitioning to skull crushing riffs of thunderous chord striking madness. Bassist and vocalist Zane Covington as always sings with great energy and plays his bass like a savage nordic barbarian warrior. I am really digging the new material and can’t wait to hear this new album after hearing the songs live. 

Trecelence

    Well, once Trecelence finished the third band, Space Vacation, started getting ready for their offering of metal music for the audience. These guys had a classic metal sound that was very melodic at times. Their twin guitar attack did less technical shredding and focused more on coming up with catchy melodic guitar parts. The band’s lead guitarist could really shred when needed, but always maintained a solid guitar sound. Disco roller dude was really getting into the band’s music and decided to go onstage and film the band. If he were to do that at the concert venue I work at, we would be dragging him right out the venue. Space Vacation did not mind the unique character onstage and in all played some awesome tunes during their set. Ending in true rock and roll fashion the band’s lead guitarist took off his belt and hit his guitar without any remorse. Definitely an exciting and entertaining way to finish a set. 

Space Vacation 

    Finally, the evening's headliner, Hell Fire, took to the stage and received a loud response from the metal fans. Even after the three previous highly energetic bands, the crowd was till yelling and moving around. This would be my third time seeing Hell Fire and I was trying to figure out how they would top the time I saw them play with Night Demon and NWOBHM icons Satan. Hell Fire has that classic NWOBHM sound and reminds me a lot of Maiden at times with their fast tempo riffs and epic melodic lead guitar parts. It is definitely music to bang you head to and throw up the devil horns. Jake Nunn is a strong singer and knows how to get the crowd going crazy. The two guitar attack was in full metal force during their set with Tony Campos and Jon Mendle trading off some killer riffs and leads. I do believe the show stealer at times was bassist Herman Bandala. He could really thrown in some wicked fills and during certain songs added so much extra emphasis behind the riffs. Drummer Arturo Rios was also bringing a lot to the table by pounding on his kit with great passion. These guys were the perfect choice to end the night and have a lot going for them if they keep putting in the hard work. 

Hell Fire

    Wrapping up this review I feel Metaluma 2016 was a great event to hold at the Phoenix Theater and all the bands delivered until the very end of the night. Some might say, only four bands does not really seem like a festival...well, those particular whinny people can shove it, because I think the billing without question worked out in the end and made for one awesome show. Also, just like most music festivals there was an interesting character who shall be remembered by everyone in attendance. Metal music and roller disco dudes, that is what will make Petaluma great again...

Concert Review: Melvistock at the Phoenix Theater (July 29, 2016)

R4ID

    Well, I think there is much to be said about this past Friday night’s show at the Phoenix Theater. I mean, where do I begin? You had four bands who all conveyed that rebellious spirit which makes punk such a great form of artistic musical expression. Eventually the artistic expression would take a turn down chaos street and looked more like an ECW wrestling event. Still, Nor Bay Pyrate Punx delivered a solid benefit show with good music and very interesting moments. 

    The bands billed were R4ID from Ukiah, Sonoma County locals The Quitters, Modern Enemy who came up all the way from Orange County, and then Elderly Abuse from the East Bay. Right when I arrived at the Phoenix the skateboard punks were tearing it up on the ramps inside the venue. A venue known for its down to earth atmosphere, I have always admired the Phoenix for giving people a place to go and not feel restricted by overbearing house rules. Most venues would not even let you bring a skateboard in let alone actually do some tricks while the bands are performing. Of course there is a limit to how much you can get away with at the Phoenix and I will discuss that a bit later. 

    Opening up the show was R4ID who I had seen before play at the Phoenix with my friends in Amnesia back in June. I was quite impressed by these young punk rockers who reminded listeners that the music is all about playing fast, simple and not giving a damn about the shitty world around you. For a young band they really have a tight sound and all around seem to be solid players. They brought that same energy they did when I first saw them and kicked off the show with a big middle finger full of unapologetic distorted angst. The trio ripped through killer song after song while people were skating around the venue floor. The band’s bassist and singer Phoenix Lewis was extremely fired up during the set and guitarist Boden Vogus hammered away at the fast paced riffs. Drummer Daniel Young not only offered up a strong performance behind the kit, but also provided some solid backing vocals. Overall, R4ID put together a killer set and I believe these dudes are a band to be on the look out for in the world of punk.  

    Switching from young punks to veteran punks, The Quitters took to the stage next and unleashed their sound of no-nonsense attitude. These locals looked as if they had rocked the Phoenix before and seemed very comfortable while cruising through their songs. The audience was divided with those in the back watching the band and then those in the front of the stage skateboarding around. If you thought mosh pits were dangerous try dodging skateboarding punks doing tricks and coming up with different ramp ideas. One guy was literally taking wooden boards and tables trying to create some unique ramp. The Quitters played a decent set that sounded good for the most part and went over well with the audience. 

    Third up on the bill and driving a long way to play was, Modern Enemy. These guys must be really dedicated and passionate about the music to drive all the way from Orange County. When they turned up the volume and tore into their first song the audience started to put the skateboards down and actually mosh. The band’s singer had great stance presence which added the band’s vicious old school hardcore punk sound. Also, they have a solid twin guitar attack and heavy sounding low end. Their bass player even had a cordless bass, so he was frantically running around the stage during songs. One of my favorite songs from them was, “True 300,” which had a very simple straightforward classic punk sound. Towards the end of their set they played some really wicked covers with one being D.O.A.’s “Fuck You.” I truly respect the fact that they drove from far away to rock the Phoenix. Plus, the crowd’s response once they finished their set showed how much the audience appreciated their crushing performance. 

    After three bands and a rather humorous raffle for some of the stuff that they were giving away, the final band started setting up. Elderly Abuse from the East Bay not only has one extreme sounding name, but their stage antics are over the top. The band’s singer acted as if he were just released from solitary confinement and wanted to fight anyone who came near him. He started the set off right in the middle of the venue and welcomed anyone who wanted to come and mosh near him. Well, alcohol and moshing can lead to some interested things and the singer eventually started tackling people. I was really digging the guitarist’s tone and thought the drummer did an amazing job holding down the rhythm during all the chaos in the pit. Just everything kept taking a turn for the worst. People started throwing cans and bottles around the venue like it was a game of dodge ball. Then all of a sudden people were bringing out steal chairs and tables. Once I saw a trash can go flying in the air, I knew the owner was not going to be happy. Sure enough the owner came out turned down their sound and told them to get the hell out. 

Elderly Abuse

    I understand Elderly Abuse wants to have that no limits punk rock attitude, but they should have respected the venue and realized the liability issues of having objects like steal chairs being thrown around. I thought it was hilarious that the singer started shouting, “Fuck the Mystic Theater,” as he left the stage. Luckily the chaotic situation was diffused and some people from the audience even helped pick up the cans and bottles. Punk is all about rebellion and sticking it to the authority, however, the venue that allows you to play your music should be treated with a bit more respect. I would like to hear Elderly Abuse with less chairs, tables and bottles being tossed around, because they didn't sound to bad before all the mayhem broke out.

    Even with the out of control finale, I must say it was an enjoyable evening at the Phoenix Theater. I always love coming to this venue because there are few places around that give bands like this a chance to play. However, some people need to maybe tone down their behavior and think before acting at times. For my usual cheesy closing statement I say...the bands that play this style of music do it for the passion and love of the music, so let's make sure we do our best to support them and also respect the venues where they allow this type of music. 

Putrid "The Triumph of Impurity"

    I am quite familiar with the black metal band Putrid and unlike my run-ins with certain black metal groups who I have reviewed in the past, there is no controversy when I have done reviews for Putrid. Coming from Lima, Peru, the band is one of the areas premier extreme acts that is really creating some sinister old school black metal with some gruesome touches of old school death metal. Their full-length release, “The Triumph of Impurity,” once again calls upon the spirits of the dark world to help unleash extreme chaos with each of the album’s ten tracks. 

    Now, after reviewing bands for about four years, the Latin American metal community has offered up some great sounding groups with Putrid being one of them. For some reason their passion for extreme metal music vividly comes out on their recordings and sounds well produced. Unlike some North America metal acts who literally throw some things together so they can go around painting their faces and holding upside down crosses, Putrid puts the work into writing solid sounding songs and then probably focuses on their stage image. It is easy to look black metal, but creating good quality black metal is a whole different story. Also, Putrid incorporates some other extreme elements into their music which I think gives their sound an extra boost of diverse sounding blasphemy. 

    Some of the tracks on here I have already heard since they were on previous EP/demo releases from the band. The opening track, “Alive In Decay,” is from their EP, “Proclaim the Pest,” which I reviewed. However, the sound is noticeably different in my opinion and compared to the earlier more raw sounding recording, the production on this new version sounds more bold and has a very old school death metal style in the presentation. I really like how the drums were recorded which I can say is heard throughout this new album. The blast beats are extremely intense and help push the song into a very dark and morbid sounding world of instrumental expression. The vocals sound louder too with more of a vicious bite at times. Track two, “Desekrator,” is another song that seems to have been given some new life and the intro sounds similar to the intro of Morbid Angel’s, “Chapel of Ghouls.” Putrid of course steers the music into a more primitive and straightforward style of extreme musicianship. 

    Songs like “Unholy Catacombs,” and “Pentamorphic Maze Asylum,” seem to explode into a chaotic sounding wave of blast beats and demonic sounding riff arrangements. You can hear grindcore influences at times, because the music really does burst out of nowhere and maintains a very adrenaline pumping tempo. Track five “Gehenna,” is just over the top double bass pounding and cymbal smashing to where the band is almost drowned out by the drumming. I really liked, “The Morbid Raids,” and “What Preys On These Ruins,” because Putrid develops such an unholy raw sounding tone with the music. Closing the album is the song, “Triumph,” which I remember from one of their previous recordings and I do like the cadaver ripping guitar riff that compliments the tormented sounding growls from the band’s singer. 

    Wrapping up this review, I liked how the songs from previous releases that were put on this album sounded in my opinion more full in sound and were well recorded. I think Putrid put some hard work into, “The Triumph of Impurity,” and they have a lot to build off of for their next release. The extreme music they are creating is nothing that has not been attempted before, but the quality and sound that they have is really impressive. This is some passionate black metal and old school death metal worship which proves that the Peruvian underground metal scene is something more metal fans should be checking out. 

Putrid Facebook Page: 

www.facebook.com/putridattacks

Gojira "Magma"

    Oh my god! It’s Godzilla! Oh wait...it is actually the new album from Gojira that is taking the metal world by storm with its massive sounding guitar arrangements and extremely powerful lyrical content. 

    The French progressive metal masters in Gojira have really raised the bar with their sixth studio release, “Magma.” Over the years one has come to learn that Gojira does not simply reproduce the same exact sounding album. The early days of Gojira are definitely different from this current sound that can be heard on the new album. They have always shown a desire to push themselves as songwriters and it should come as no surprise that, “Magma,” is sort of the pinnacle right now in Gojira’s career. Everything I enjoyed about their last album, “L”Enfant Sauvage,” has evolved into a more focused and determined state of musical expression. Honestly, the songwriting with its almost straight forward progressive hard rock style matched with these monumental metallic elements, allows for the band to dish out brilliant song after song. 

    The music on, "Magma," draws you in right from the first song, “The Shooting Star.” Gojira builds a very atmospheric calm environment that evolves quickly into a massive distorted delivery of crushing emotion. Vocalist and guitarist Joe Duplantier’s voice echoes with great force over the drum and guitar arrangements. Compared to the first song track number two, “Silvera,” starts off with more aggression and attitude. The vocals have that unforgiving shouting like growl which are then met by a more melodic style at times. I really liked the guitar playing on this track and felt the band created some outstanding riff sections. Track three, “The Cell,” has a very fast tempo intro part that displays the tremendous talents of drummer Mario Duplantier. Again, the music is presented without any restraint and the emotional energy from the song is constantly being unleashed upon the listener. 

    Probably my favorite song on the album and in my opinion the track that helps make this album one of the best releases to come out this year is, “Stranded.” Simply a moving piece of music that contains a simple yet addicting heavy riff and some really memorable lyrical content. My favorite part is when the band is hammering out this angry sounding riff section and you hear Joe shout, “Don’t lock the door on me, you’d kill me face down dead...”, with such raw emotion. 

    At about midway through the album you realize Gojira is not showing any sings of slowing down and the songs continue to offer so much creative diversity. The album’s title track is a very spiritual sounding piece. “Pray,” is a song that starts with a chugging guitar riff that eventually mellows out for a bit until the band unleashes a burst of intense musical fury. Keeping to the raw aggressive tone that was heard on, “Stranded,” the album’s eighth track, “Only Pain,” delivers yet another bold chorus of guitar chord destruction. I liked the song’s raw expression, however, I felt it was not as moving and well composed as, “Stranded.” The last two songs on the album are a strong finish with the six minute piece, “Low Lands,” and then the final acoustic driven instrumental song, “Liberation.” I honestly felt as though the band could have just concluded with, “Low Lands.” To me the instrumental outro did not match up well with the other tracks and did not offer much to the album. 

    Gojira once again has found a way to capture the metal world’s attention with their tremendous recording talents. “Magma,” is an album that some might argue is the album of the year, but we shall see as there is still time for other releases to come out. As stated before, compared to previous Gojira releases, the songwriting and recording on the album is raise to newer heights. For a band who has never settled for a repetitive sounding formula, Gojira maintains their artistic unique standing in the metal world with, “Magma.” 

Concert Review: One Foot In The Grave Tour (July 22, 2016)

Carcass

    Very rarely do you have such a diverse line-up featuring a selection of extremely talented acts from different areas of the metal spectrum. The One Foot In The Grave tour may have had four bands who sounded different, but they all happened to have undeniable passion for the music while up on stage. Who would have thought to have Carcass, Crowbar, Ghoul and Night Demon on the same bill? Well, it happened and let me tell you what this killer tour package brought to Sacramento. 

    After making the metal pilgrimage from Rohnert Park to Sacramento and getting stuck in the well known I-80 traffic, I finally arrived at Ace of Spades in downtown Sacramento. I was really impressed by the layout of this venue and how the stage was setup. Also, talk about a strong turnout and even before the opener, the crowd was taking up most of the floor space. I had a feeling that with such a diverse line-up that this could draw out all kinds of metal maniacs. Again, whoever put together this tour really did something special and in my opinion a bit rare when it comes to North American tours. 

    Opening the show was Ventura, CA’s very own NWOBHM-style soldiers Night Demon. This would mark my fifth time seeing Night Demon. I can’t believe that about two years ago I saw them playing at a small bar in SF and now they were opening for Carcass. Hard work and dedication can honestly take you places and Night Demon is living proof of that. Starting their set off with some epic cinematic music, the band then proceeded to burst out the song, “Ritual,” from their debut EP. The crowd was really getting into it as bassist/singer Jarvis Leatherby and guitarist Armand John Anthony feverishly played away on stage. Drummer Dusty Squires was pounding away on his kit and the drum parts to songs like, “Curse of the Damned” and “The Chalice,” sounded titanic at times. During, “Curse of the Damned,” the band really invoked the crowd’s inner metal spirit and people were throwing their hands up and rocking out the entire time. The band concluded their set with the self-titled song from their first EP and I was singing along until the last verse. 

Night Demon

    After Night Demon’s highly enjoyable set, Ghoul quickly began setting up for what would be their set of wild splatter thrash music. I saw Ghoul open up for Gwar awhile back and could not wait to hear some wicked riffs and get sprayed with fake blood. The crowd started making more of a push towards the front, because these headbangers in the audience did not seem to care about getting some fake blood on them. The cannibal thrashers from Creepsylvania walked out on stage and proceeded to rip into a crushing song. Also, in between their songs they had some visitors from Creepsylvania who ended up getting hacked up or disemboweled, but no matter what, they sprayed fake blood into the crowd. Ghoul also played some songs off of their new album which I believe comes out later this month. “Shred the Dead” was one of new tracks I really liked and the new material is definitely worth checking out. Cremator and Digestor also have some of the best stage banter and I think they deserve their own talk show. Overall, Ghoul knew how to appease the Ghoulunatics during their set with plenty of thrash and fake blood. 

Ghoul

    The third act of the night would not be spraying any blood into the audience, but instead cranking up the volume with some good old fashion New Orleans sludge. It would be my first time seeing Crowbar live and I could not wait to hear what Kirk Windstein and the other dudes in the band had to offer. Not only does Kirk have the beard of doom, but he has the riffs of doom. From the start of their set the guitar tone was extremely heavy and addicting. You just wanted to keep hearing those slow behemoth sized riffs. I noticed that the band had a good mix of old material from different albums and even threw in some of the new tracks that I personally enjoy like, “Walk With Knowledge Wisely.” Plus, only Crowbar can take a Led Zeppelin song like, “No Quarter,” and turn it into a crushing riff onslaught. The entire band sounded tight throughout their set, which contained killer riffs and planet colliding compositions. 

Crowbar

    Ending the night of diverse and epic metal music was the surgical themed death lords, Carcass, from Liverpool, UK. Talk about an iconic and influential band that has had a brilliant career. Also, after not releasing an album for some time, the band put out what in my opinion was one of the best metal albums of 2013, “Surgical Steel.” Right when they walked on stage, Carcass was given a loud welcome as they tore into the first cut of death metal madness. Jeff Walker is a great frontman and not too shabby of a bass player. Bill Steer played some phenomenal guitar leads and the riffs him and fellow guitarist Ben Ash played were undeniably brutal. Drummer Daniel Wilding is a technical machine behind the kit and gave quite a drum lesson while up on stage. 

    I noticed during their set a few people would shout certain classic songs they wanted to hear, which I honestly get annoyed with at times. The newer material like the song, “The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills,” is an amazing song with one hell of a catchy chorus. So, new songs or classics I don’t mind...It all sounds damn good! The band also threw into the set, “Keep on Rotting the Free World,” where they even asked a member from the audience to come up on stage and sing a verse for them. Unfortunately, the first person they picked forgot the words, but they found another person to help them out. To conclude, Carcass put on one crushing set and the Sacramento audience let them know how much they appreciated the band by making endless noise until the last note faded. 

Carcass

    By the end of the night I was pretty tired along with most of the people in the crowd. There may have been only four bands, but the energy coming from the stage was never ending. I must say that The One Foot in The Grave tour is something I would like to see more often. You had old school classic NWOBHM from Night Demon, splatter thrash from Ghoul, massive sized sludge riffs from Crowbar and feverish surgical death metal from Carcass...if anyone could not find something enjoyable to take away from that line-up, they deserve to get a foot in the rear end and fall right down into a grave. There may have been a difference in sound and style, but what these bands showed was that it is the passion for heavy metal that can make for one evening of great metal music.  

Stone Kings "From Creation to Devastation"

    After being sent what seems like a lot of black metal lately (I still have yet to figure out why...), I am finally getting a chance to check out what the world of hard rock has to offer this year. Coming from the UK, Stone Kings packs a hard rock punch to the jaw with a slight metal under cut that mostly contains stoner rock and subtle doom touches. This band is jumping out into a sea of countless acts who play a similar style of music. Some groups are able to standout by having great songwriting skills and a truly heavy recording sound, while others drown in the waters of boring repetitious sounding hard rock that calls itself doom or stoner rock. Call it want you want, but if it does not sound engaging and interesting, I am not buying it! 

    Now, Stone Kings has twelve tracks on their full-length release, “From Creation to Devastation,” so you get plenty of opportunities to check out what these dudes have to offer. In my opinion, bands similar to Stone Kings that I have reviewed tend to write the same sounding tracks over and over again to where the entire album is pretty much based off of the same riff. There were a few songs I felt sounded repetitive, but overall you get a fair amount of unique sounding tracks. 

    The album opens with the distortion blasting instrumental track, “Creation,” that also contains this mellow vibe at times. It sort of reminded me of old Alice in Chains where you have that balance between heavy and soothing. Song number two, “Far Out,” has a very basic sound, but is written in a catchy manner. Again, I hear a lot of nineties hard rock influence, especially in the vocal delivery. The band sounds tight during the song and the guitar solo added a nice little kick. Track three, “Head Shot,” builds up with a crushing drum and guitar section that I quite enjoyed. The lyrical content and chorus section were a bit lack luster, but the guitar riff helped boost the song’s energy with a fierce tone. “Out Cast,” the following track, uses that strange vocal effect that sounds like the singer is singing through a megaphone. Honestly, the song was just a continuation of what you heard on the previous song. 

    I think track five, “Krokodil,” was where the band really got me tapping my foot to the bluesy hard rock/doom sound. The guitar player throws in a mean sounding solo of note ripping aggression. As I stated earlier, you get a little more than just the same type of tracks on this release and song number six, “Time Out,” is without question the one that I think stands out the most. The song features an acoustic guitar riff mixed with a more solemn and melancholy vibe. Powerful lyrical content also provides a deep message for listeners to take away. The next track, “Full Throttle,” returns straight back to the more grooving hard rock sound. Two tracks that also caught my attention towards the end were, “In My Place,” and the thunderous instrumental outro, “Devastation.” Both well written songs that contain these explosive moments of tire slashing riffs and glass shattering cymbal hits. 

    Overall, Stone Kings maintains a strong identity throughout this album, even if the music wasn’t exactly clicking with me. I did find moments where the music was not anything new to my ears, but I will acknowledge that there are tracks which help push this band towards the front of the modern hard rock line. For hard rock standards these guys are not bad, however, I think there is more to be done and if they keep pouring their hearts and souls into recording more music, who knows what they might be capable of doing? I will say that the talent is there and this release is definitely worth checking out. 

Stone Kings Facebook Page: 

https://www.facebook.com/stonekingsmusic