Artist: Suicide City Title: “Not My Year” Label: Unsigned Release Date: 2005 Genre: Post Hardcore/Punk Rating: Very Good
Suicide City is the energetic new group formed by Billy Graziadei (Biohazard) and Jennifer Arroyo (Kittie). The interesting thing you will find right off the bat is that instead of finding a new version of Biohazard or Kittie you find that the group takes a different approach and takes you into a more power punk/post hardcore type of vibe. Fans of the pair who might have wanted this to be the case risk being disappointed but if you are one of those fans that enjoy the constant change that music offers there is a chance that you will be pleasantly surprised. There is a level of the teenage angst screamo going on which might turn off some folks and I admit that is not my cup of tea either but one has to agree with an artists desire to work into a growing in popularity style. Of the five tracks I enjoyed “Give Me Your Pity” and “Diemonds” the most and found them catchier than the rest over the couple of listens I was able to give the recording. Having caught the band live I can add that they are a very energetic group onstage and do keep the audiences attention through their set. Continue reading “Not My Year” by Suicide City→
Artist: Pretty Suicide Title: “Suicide Shot” Label: Unsigned Release Date: 2003 Genre: Rock & Roll Rating: Good
Pretty Suicide is a band who I met at a KISS Convention and that is truly on of the great perks of an event like this. You have the ability to walk about and potentially meet some wonderful and talented people. I had the pleasure of talking to Courtney who is the lead singer of this band and she sent me the CD for commentary on the site. The self-released CD “Suicide Shot” that they have is a nice assortment of tasty and well laid out Rock & Roll. There is a dose of catchy numbers that I found myself singing along with after a couple of quick listens. Opening track “Should Have Said Goodbye” is perhaps the best and my personal favorite across the recording. I found Court possessing a very Pat Benetar like quality in her voice during this one in particular. “User Abuser” and “Do You Want It” are also on the memorable side. Band members Larry (guitar) and Armand (drums) do great on the piece and certainly prove that Courtney is not treating them as the backup band to her front person role. You too often find the case where the players are forgotten and the singer the main focus. Her look is of course very pretty but she plays it down and instead focuses on the task at hand which is Rocking and Rolling to the best of her ability. Continue reading “Suicide Shot” by Pretty Suicide→
Artist: ZO2 Venue: Arlene’s Grocery (New York, NY) Opener: Me Talk Pretty Date: 2/17/2006 Label: Independent Artist
When I take into account the amount of shows we are required to bring you here on PiercingMetal.com, I find myself sometimes being a little unfair to some of the fine independent artists that we come into contact with. Every once in awhile, we will aim to sate the hunger in our readers for the groups that are particularly impressive as a whole and who also bring the musical goods to the table.
One such band is ZO2, a group I have known for a couple of years based on attending KISS conventions and through their other bands. The group is merely three guys, two of them Brothers who handle the guitars and vocals along with their drummer who also sings. The frequently perform at a comfortable little club in Downtown Manhattan called Arlene’s Grocery. On a good night you can fit a little over a hundred screaming fans in front of the stage and based on the growing popularity of these guys that is seldom a problem. This is great to see happen for an independent group and on a Monday night no less. I have seen some of the signed groups having issues on weird nights of the week at certain outlets. I instantly liked the feel of Arlene’s and arrived in time to see the opening band Me Talk Pretty. They play an interesting blend of contemporary Rock with some influences that are clearly the result of their guitarist Leon Lyazidi (born in Spain) and the lovely Julia Preotu (the bands Romanian import) who sings. I am sure good things will be waiting for them going forward. Continue reading ZO2 @ Arlene’s Grocery (2/17/2006)→
Artist: Mastermind Title: “Broken” Label: Unsigned Release Date: 12/22/2005 Genre: Progressive Hard Rock Rating: Very Good
It’s been too long for fans of Mastermind, the Progressive Rock/Fusion outfit from New Jersey and now the wait is over with some new material and a couple of surprises that make up the EP release “Broken”. Holding at 8 songs this is an EP that does not disappoint existing fans and was a lot of fun to listen to for new fans such as myself. The lineup remains at 4 core members, and this will be first official recording for singer Tracy McShane and new bassist Laura Johnson (who completed the lineup about a year ago). Guitarist Bill Berends is on top of his game with this one and those who had wondered about the long wait will be pleasantly surprised at the result he was able to put together . The rhythm of drummer Rich Berends (Bill’s Brother) and Johnson is solid and lead singer Tracy McShane shines all over the recording. “Broken” begins a lot like “Tom Saywer” by Rush almost as if the band was offering props to the Progressive Rock giants. The track is hypnotic and is destined for heavy rotation if the right people are paying attention to the release. “Break Me Down” is more on the Gothic side and can stand along the likes of Lacuna Coil. The remainder of the album is essentially the band treating you to some fun from their past and some of their favorite tracks from other artists. There are covers of a classical piece in “William Tell Overture” and you can literally feel the fun that the band is having with this energetic rendition right through your speakers. There is also a cover of A Perfect Circle’s “Weak & Powerless” and it was interesting to hear a strong female vocal to it. I think Maynard himself would be pleased with how it came out. “I’m So Glad” is a heavy rock/blues version of the Cream classic and given the bands recent reunited tours this holds strong to the times and to Masterminds own love of the Clapton, Bruce, Baker juggernaut. Listeners will be interested in knowing that several tracks were recorded live in the studio and they are indeed very strong in their presentation on the EP. “Million Miles Away” and “Queen Of Sheba” are just as Berends denotes in the insert, “this is how we would sound if we were playing in your living room”. Now that’s a rocking party if that was the case. Continue reading “Broken” by Mastermind→
Artist: Still Life Decay Title: “Storm and Stress” Label: Unsigned Release Date: 2004 Genre: Industrial/Gothic Rating: Very Good
Still Life Decay is a band that I met at some dark NYC club gathering and after this encounter I could only say that they are as serious about their music as anyone could be. The scene of Industrial and Gothic music has a different audience than that of your standard Metal crowd yet as I listened to this album entitled “Storm and Stress” I felt it was safe to say that Metal fans would appreciate a lot of what is going on in the recording. Powerful riffs over throbbing drum patterns all laced with interesting samples and electronic themes make the feel very intense and above it all their singer Fade screams, growls and whispers to whatever degree the track merits. His delivery is solid and surely sets up a lot of the mood in this very deep recording. Fade not only handles the duties on the microphone but also makes sure that all of the necessary programming involved is just right for the music. This allows the band to bring you deeper into their world and make it an experience you will not soon forget. They also must know the right people as they are joined by Fear Factory’s Burton C. Bell on the track “Detach” which is among my favorites. “Align” was also a repeat listen for me as it brought a little bit of a Nine Inch Nails feel to the piece and I based it more for the creative samplings and steady electronics than a direct copy of NIN. I had felt that “Resuscitate” was a number that appealed to me most as a Metal listener and with that decided that there was a little bit of everything in this band that makes investigation into them a good thing to do. It’s a journey into despair and agony that you will most likely not recover from very easily. Continue reading “Storm and Stress” by Still Life Decay→
