JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Iggy Pop’s 76th birthday.
Category: Hard Rock
Throwback: Happy 68th Birthday, Angus Young!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Angus Young’s 68th birthday.
Founded by drummer Rip Ryder in 2019, and split between Brisbane and Australia’s Gold Coast, Aussie hard rock outfit Scandal Tree‘s original lineup featured Ryder, along with Flaky, Jase and Adam. Back in 2020, the quartet recorded their debut, self-titled EP with Cian Warbrick at Smooth Edge Recording.
After the departure of longtime members Jase and Adam, the remaining members of the band asked themselves whether it was time to close up shop and move on — or to go all in. “We felt that Scandal Tree was more than just the sum of its parts, but a more encompassing vision. There was something more there musically that we (Rip and Flaky) wanted to explore. A creative potential still yet to be untapped and unleashed upon the world,” the band’s founding member explains,
After searching for members for the band’s second lineup, the band’s remaining members found Matty (vocals), Joe (bass) and Wayne (guitar), which expanded the band from their original quartet to a quintet. In late 2021, the band recorded “Nothin’ to Lose” with Nik Carpenter at Core Studios and was released earlier this year to critical applause from broadcasters, playlist curators, critics and even publicists.
The Aussie rockers sophomore EP Layin’ Down Your Cards is rooted in everyday realties — with the EP’s material seeing the band navigating life as best as they can, and at full throttle paired with high-energy riffage. The EP’s latest single, the brash “One Way Home” is a big power chord-driven ripper, full of rousing, arena rock friendly choruses and hooks that brings Headbanger’s Ball, AC/DC and Amyl and the Sniffers to mind. In other words, nasty, gritty rock meant to be played loudly — and to raise your beer while shouting along.
Rising Kent, UK-based quartet Pryma blends heavy rock with heavy metal influences paired with meaningful lyricism and melodic vocals with a darker, menacing edge. The band prides themselves on a honest approach to their music, and an energetic live show, which has helped them gain a loyal fanbase — while earning them regular gigs across their native UK.
The British metal outfit has released a nubmer of singles, which has led to radio airplay and attention from the press and across social media. Building upon a growing profile, the band’s debut EP UNCAGED is slated for a November 25, 2022 release. The EP’s lead single “1:23:45” begins with an acoustic guitar-based intro before quickly morphing into a mosh pit friendly ripper centered around enormous power chord-driven riffage that will bring Headbanger’s Ball to mind. But the song is given a modern feel with a feral and unhinged vocal performance that sees Pyrma’s frontperson alternating between melodic verses, guttural howled choruses and hooks. Play this one very loud!
New Video: Gold Tongue Shares a Menacing Visual for Anthemic “Who Do You Think You Are”
London, Ontario, Canada-based indie outfit Gold Tongue — Brent Jackson, Danny Shultz, Josh Torrance, and Thomas Perquin — specialize in a hard charging, anthemic take on rock that draws from desert rock, blues and hard rock.
Centered around a chugging and propulsive bass line, steady warpath drumbeat, enormous power chords, an arena rock friendly hook, bursts of twinkling keys, and a 12 bar blues-like song structure, the Canadian band’s high octane, debut single “Who Do Think You Are” is a song specifically meant to be played loud as humanly possible — whether in your car or at a small, sweaty club.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, “Who Do You Think You Are” is inspired by this peculiar moment full of misinformation, mistrust, bullshit and fear — during one of the oddest, most difficult periods of modern history. “Our collective psyches have been beaten to a pulp, our emotions strapped to a rocket ship flown by billionaires into space at a million miles an hour,” the members of Gold Tongue say in press notes.
The accompanying visual is menacing and unsettling, as it features masked figures with black and white imagery of the band’s members superimposed over them. Throughout the video, the faces morph into surrealistic and nightmarish shapes.
Throwback: Happy 67th Birthday, Angus Young!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Angus Young’s 67th birthday.
New Audio: Toronto’s SATE Returns with a Hard Rocking Meditation on Fame
Toronto-based singer/songwriter and rock frontperson SATE has received attention nationally and internationally for singing empowering messages backed by a band that sonically meshes blistering hard rock and gritty blues. Along with her backing band, the Canadian rock artist has developed and honed an emotionally charged and critically applauded live show, which has toured across Canada, the States and the European Union, as well as stops across the global festival circuit, including Afropunk Brooklyn, Paris and London, Paleo Festival, Lott Festival and Secret Garden Party.
Her full-length debut, 2017’s Red, Black, and Blue, the Toronto-based artist thematically pursued her spiritual connection to the black panther, the red robin and the blue butterfly. Last year’s sophomore album, The Fool saw the Canadian rocker pursuing her connection to the tarot: The album’s title was derived from the hero of the tarot deck, The Fool. In tarot, the Fool card is about beginnings and trust; of essentially jumping off a cliff with no real plan but an ultimate faith and trust in the universe.
According to SATE, The Fool is an anthem for anyone who has dared to dream and work towards their greatest self. And if you had been frequenting this site last year. you may recall that I wrote about album title track “The Fool,” a slow-burning and and sultry synthesis of soul, neo-soul and arena rock centered around SATE’s powerhouse vocals.
“Famous,” The Fool‘s latest single is an anthemic, headbanger centered around buzzing power chords, a relentless motorik groove, some arena rock bombast paired with SATE’S powerhouse, ass kicking and name taking delivery. Thematically, the song sees its narrator dreaming of and desiring fame and its trappings — while asking the listener, how badly do you want it? Will you do anything to be famous?
New Video: Introducing Toronto’s Ass-kicking, Hard Rocking SATE
SATE is a Toronto-based singer/songwriter and rock frontperson, who sings empowering messages backed by a band that meshes blistering hard rock and gritty blues. The Canadian artist and her backing band have developed and honed an emotionally charged and critically applauded live show, which has led to tours across Canada, the States and Europe, and festival appearances at Afropunk Brooklyn, Paris and London, Paleo Festival, Lott Festival and Secret Garden Party.
Her full-length debut, 2017’s Red, Black, and Blue, the Toronto-based artist thematically pursued her spiritual connection to the black panther, the red robin and the blue butterfly. With her recently released sophomore album, The Fool, the rising Canadian artist pursues her connection to the tarot — with the album’s title derived from the hero of the tarot deck, The Fool. In tarot, The Fool card is about beginnings and trust; of essentially jumping off a cliff with no real plan but an ultimate faith and trust in the universe.
According to SATE, The Fool is an anthem for anyone who has dared to dream and work towards their greatest self. Album title track “The Fool,” is a slow-burning synthesis of soul, neo-soul and power chord-based arena rock centered around SATE’s powerhouse vocals.
Earlier this year, the Toronto-based artist released a gorgeously shot, short film, which features “The Fool,” as well as a sampling of other material from the album — and from what you’ll hear, SATE is a badass, kick ass and take names sort of superstar in the making. And goodness that voice! The video is centered around themes tackled on the album, while showing the Toronto-based artist railing against stereotypes of all sorts, along with a collection of women who kick ass.
New Video: Bloomington’s Wenches Releases a No-Frills Mosh Pit Friendly Ripper
Wenches is a new Bloomington, IN-based quartet that features members of several locally known punk, metal and post-hardcore acts including Racebannon. With the release of a now-sold out, three-song demo cassette, the Bloomington-based act began to receive attention for a sound that No Echo has described as “raw, no bullshit . . . undiluted rock realness.”
Effin’ Gnarly, Wenches’ forthcoming full-length debut will feature what the band says in press notes “high-energy screaming hard rock, played the only way long-haired punk metalhead know how.” Interestingly, the album finds the band hopefully settling on a long-lasting lineup after going through a series of lineup changes featuring a rotating cast of bassists and drummers.
“Bad Man,” Effin’ Gnarly’s first single is an explosive and pummeling, mosh pit friendly ripper featuring thunderous drumming, enormous power chord-driven riffs and shredded vocal cord howling. Centered around a noisy, no fill, all killer approach and a beer guzzling, zero fucks given delivery, “Bad Man” finds the Indiana-based act’s sound bearing a resemblance to MC5 and Rye Coalition. So play this one loud and rock the fuck out!
The recently released video for “Bad Man” features animation by Loverman and is one-part lyric video and one part cartoon adventure, following a bearded and sunglass wearing motorcyclist, who seems like the bad motherfucker, the song talks about.
Effin’ Gnarly is slated for a February 26, 2021 release through LP and digital download through Master Kontrol Audio and through limited edition cassette through Small Hand Factory.
Los Angeles– based duo Complicated Animals— singer/songwriter Monica da Silva and multi-instrumentalist Chad Alger — specializes in what the duo have coined Indie Nova, a mesh of Indie Pop and Bossa nova. Complicated Animals can trace their origins back to 2008: the then-Chicago-based da Silva, who had been wanting to steer her music back to her Brazilian roots had stumbled across Alger’s Craiglist ad seeking someone to start a Brazilian music project with. The duo met during the winter and they survived the cold Chicagoland winter by drinking red wine and black coffee — and at some point, during that haze, Alger picked up a guitar and da Silva made up some lyrics. And the songs they began crafting transported them to the beaches of Brazil.
The duo collaborated on da Silva’s solo album 2010’s Bruce Driscoll-produced Brasilissima, which featured songs written and sung in English and Portuguese. Brasilissima‘s first single “Aí Então”, caught the attention of the blogosphere and Cumbacha Records‘ Jacob Edgar, who featured the track on Putunayo World Music‘s Brazilian Beat compilation. Adding to a rapidly growing profile, the duo’s psychedelic “That’s Not The Way” pump dup crowds during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Written and recorded in a cabin in the Michigan woods, the duo’s Complicated Animals 2015 debut, the six song In This Game EP was released to critical praise by PopMatters, who called the effort “a 6 song masterpiece” and the “beginning of a new sound.” Since then da Silva released the haunting and cinematic “Soldado de Amor,” which was featured on the BBC TV dramatic series The Replacement . Last year, In This Game single “Phoenix” was featured in the Netflix’s Last Summer.
Complicated Animals’ latest single find the duo tackling one of my favorite Foo Fighter songs, and arguably one of their biggest hits “Times Like These.” Famously, Foo Fighters released an acoustic version of “Times Like These,” in which Dave Grohl accompanied himself on guitar and piano — and while leaning much closer to the acoustic version, the Complicated Animals cover is a breezier, folkier, Fleetwood Mac-like take on the song. In my book, “Times Like These” is the rare Foo Fighter song that works as an arena rock anthem and as an intimate singer/songwriter ballad, which is a testament to how well written the song is.
As da Silva and Alger explain, they gravitated toward the track, because the lyrics are in line with the events of this past year. “This year sure has been crazy. We’ve all had to slow down, and focus on familial relationships, and close friendships. We believe that these challenging times, are the times that shape us,” the Los Angeles based duo explain. “The most important thing we can do right now, is just be there for each other. We hope to inspire people with some positivity. The world needs more of that. We’re collaborating with a talented Brazilian artist named Karla Caprali. She has created the song art, and is working on a powerful visual (animated video) to go with the track. We’re staying hopeful for the future. As Oscar Wilde said, ‘Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.’”