The American Black Lung
Sudden Departure Vultures
Uprising
Music worth making happens when the kids making it have large and versatile music collections, and no one direction to steer themselves toward. I would hope that the generation currently causing a racket in their parents’ garages have grown up listening to everything from their grandparents’ Doors albums, to their parents’ Duran Duran or Clash albums (depending), and their older siblings’ Nirvana discs. Not to mention the vast highway of digital downloads at their fingertips. This generation should be more versed than any because they’ve got so many options.
The American Black Lung are one such pack of wily dogs. Switch-hitting between modern hardcore, pumped-up garage rock, and metal, this Arizona band has found with their sophomore album a stride worth watching. They’ve toured with Christian punks MXPX, and viking road warriors Valient Thor; they cover both MC5 and Rage Against the Machine; they list Steve Earle and Corrosion of Conformity as influences.
The vocals of Diamond Rhino are pretty much one channel: brutal. As strong as his painful screams are to the album’s intention, it’s the guitars of Johnny Detroit and Easy E that truly drive Sudden Departure Vultures into regions I’d like to travel. Oh, and drummer W. Moon has got a straight-up street punk style that wins me over every time!
Uprising Records: http://www.uprisingrecords.com
