Judgement Day
Polar Shift
Minus Head
I’m always intrigued by handmade CDs with the band’s name scrawled in Magic Marker. Is this something so hot off the press they haven’t finished the art work? Or is this such a low budget operation that this IS the artwork? Judgement Day’s sound certainly isn’t low budget; these guys sound like a string quartet rocking out Led Zeppelin and David Lee Roth at the same time. The band comes from the Northern Cali experimental music scene, and unlike so many “experimental” groups, this experiment is a rousing success. The boys in the band possess superb playing skills, and some have been to Conservatory. The beat is fervent and sweaty, but the strings add a layer of calm and pretention, resulting in a weird mix of musicality and rebellion. Like most hard rockers, they have a sense of humor; songs are titled “Red Neck Rumble,” “California Legislature,” “The Treachery of Kyodai Ken,” and “Prelude in D Minor.” OK, that last one wasn’t funny, but it WAS in D minor. These guys know more about composition than most. Unlike “classical” classical music, this stuff does rock without making you dance, and makes you sweat without any potential deodorant failures. This band lives off the beaten path, but I see that path getting a lot more traffic.
Judgement Day: http://www.stringmetal.com/judgementday
