Music Discovery Monday – 9/19/16
Music Discovery Monday shines a light on artists that are not getting the radio attention that they deserve, while also showcasing new singles by established bands that are likely to get airplay in the future.
In addition to appearing on the embedded YouTube playlist below, all songs featured on Music Discovery Monday can be listened to individually by clicking on the hyper-linked song titles above each review.
ADAM WALDMAN – (Publisher, Hard Rock Daddy)
THE WINERY DOGS – “Captain Love”
I’ve yet to speak to anyone who has listened to The Winery Dogs (or see them in a live setting) give anything but positive feedback. This is a pretty big accomplishment in a day and age when people feel emboldened by the anonymity of the internet to say any negative thing that comes to their mind. Equally surprising to me is the fact that many people still aren’t familiar with this incredibly talented, virtuoso power trio that features Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan and Richie Kotzen.
Once upon a time, this is the kind of band that would be all over rock radio, but these days, most people have discovered them either through word-of-mouth or by following the individual band members on social media.
Although The Winery Dogs are known for their virtuosity, “Captain Love” is one of the band’s more straight ahead blues rock songs. From the band’s sophomore release, Hot Streak, “Captain Love” has a haunting quality in the same vein as the Deep Purple classic, “Perfect Strangers.” Keeping the instrumentation less intricate affords Kotzen the opportunity to fill in the blanks with his brilliant vocals.
If The Winery Dogs have somehow managed to fly below your radar, here’s another chance to discover one of the best new bands in recent memory.
BILLY TALENT – “Afraid Of Heights”
Just as I am surprised that The Winery Dogs have yet to be discovered by many, I am just as surprised that Billy Talent has flown beneath my radar until recently. There’s a lot of great music out there these days, sometimes too much to keep up with, so things can slip through the cracks. I may be a bit late to the party, but I’m sure that there are many others who haven’t discovered the band yet either.
In late July, Billy Talent released their fifth studio album, Afraid Of Heights. The title track is an interesting blend of Green Day-esque punk and Myles Kennedy’s work with Slash. There’s something about soaring vocals and melodic harmonies with a punk foundation that adds another level of intrigue to a song, and the overall sound of the band.
An interesting side note about these Canadian rockers. The band’s latest album was mastered for Klipsch Reference R6 and R6i on-ear headphones in order to address the new ways in which consumers access, control and connect to content. This mastered-for-Klipsch headphones album ensures the band’s art, message and emotion translates to listeners they way that Billy Talent intended it to.
ANDY CHEUNG – HRD Music Scout
PERIPHERY – “Marigold”
Progressive metal band from Washington D.C. is back with their new album, Periphery III: Select Difficulty. It is chock full of clean soaring vocals, strong writing and great chops from the band throughout the album. Fans of bands such as Dream Theater will absolutely dig the heaviness and impressive compositions of this band. Looking for outstanding musicianship? Give these guys a listen.
BLACK CROWN INITIATE – “Selves We Cannot Forgive”
In the realm of death metal, few bands can pull off the clean vocal/death metal growl mixture perfectly. Opeth did it very well before eventually meandering to the cleaner side of progressive metal. Black Crown Initiate is a Pennsylvania band that flawlessly brings much feeling and emotion to their songs (which is difficult to do in the death metal genre). Their music is progressive, intricate and complex, with catchy vocals and death metal growls. “Selves We Cannot Forgive,” (the title track from their new album) is a perfect example of how progressive death metal should be written.
ROB DELL’AQUILA – HRD Music Scout
THE AGONIST – “Take Me To Church”
Canadian metal band The Agonist will release their fifth album, Five, at the end of the month. It will be their second with new singer Vicky Psarakis, who is proving to be a great fit for the band. On this bonus track from their upcoming release, she hauntingly, but powerfully, covers Hozier’s grammy-nominated hit from just a couple years ago.
SULLY ERNA – “Don’t Comfort Me”
When he isn’t fronting Godsmack, or holding his own in world class poker tournaments, Salvatore Paul “Sully” Erna can be found putting out some powerful solo material. Here’s one from his upcoming second solo album, Hometown Life (due out at the end of the month).
CHRIS HERZEGOVITCH – HRD Music Scout
GRAHAM BONNET BAND – “My Kingdom Come”
Graham Bonett’s legendary voice has fronted some great bands: Rainbow, Alcatrazz, Michael Schenker Group and Impellitteri (to name a few). In 2015 he formed the Graham Bonnet band, releasing a 2-song EP called My Kingdom Come. This title track has everything you’d expect from Graham: tremendous power, wide range, his signature growl and a variety of styles that match the change of pace in the music, which although good, sits in second place to the vocals. This tune is written by Russ Ballard – whom Bonnet teamed up with for perhaps his greatest performance, “Since You’ve Been Gone” (a song that he recorded with both Rainbow and Impellitteri). The band will be releasing another studio album later this year.
PSYCHOPRISM – “Chronos”
The NY/NJ Area is home to Psychoprism, a power metal band formed in 2012. “Chronos” is an intense track from their first full-length studio album, Creation. A prog-metal opening gives way to a full power metal anthem with a heavy galloping rhythm. The deft guitar work of Bill Visser and tremendous vocals from Jess Rittgers are the notable performances.
SUBMISSIONS
To be considered for Music Discovery Monday, please e-mail a link to the song being submitted on YouTube and an artist bio to – submissions@MusicDiscoveryMonday.com
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