The Showdown
Temptation Come My Way
Mono Vs. Stereo
Like Avenged Sevenfold, Tennessee boys, The Showdown, raise high the mighty sounds of a metal era when rockstars were born and masculinity was celebrated. Metallica, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Guns & Roses –it was the era of excess and of big guitars and sweaty, long-haired men. On their sophomore release, Temptation Come My Way they channel the “Headbangers’ Ball” sounds that Beavis and Butthead championed, from the guitar solos to the Hetfield-ian tone of frontman David Bunton’s voice.
In their bio they claim, “We’re trying to bring back masculine. We’re trying to take the sensitive guy out, and bring the BAD BOY back…”
Here’s what throws me off… The music is aggressive and heavy, their proclamations are as bold as the aforementioned A7X, so why am I hearing them defined as being Christian metal? How bad boy can you be if you’re identifying your band as Christian? Stryper may have rocked out in their time, but would you have considered them as hardcore as, say, Slayer?
With music as mighty as what they’ve produced here, let’s just erase the Christian label from our minds and rejoice in the fact that there are bands attempting to bring the old metal back. The album’s opening track “Fanatics And Whores” on its own is cause to forgive their religious label.
Mono Vs. Stereo: http://www.monovsstereo.com
