One of the pleasures of writing for the Decibel Geek website is the chance to discover and share new music with you. Rock is dead or so they say, but then again who the hell are “they”? Certainly the old school mentality of signing the big record deal and becoming rich and famous is a thing of the past but rock and roll lives and breathes in the hearts of the young. Truth is I am constantly being introduced to passionate new bands that are proudly carrying the rock and roll torch. Just this morning I was turned on to the Smokin Mirrors EP from a band out of Stratford Ontario that call themselves Chemical Burn.
As I settled in with my headphones on and the opening riffs of “Cherry Red to Monaco” ripped into my brain, I found myself smiling from ear to ear. Man, I love rock n’ roll! The vocal stylings of one Eddie Arsenic harkened me back to the first time I heard Love/Hate’s Blackout in the Red Room, raw, raspy and 100% rock n’ roll! I love the smell of metal in the morning. Killer guitar solo, “I’m a slave to the white line!”
“Black Widow” (not to be mistaken for the Alice Cooper song of the same name) is a slow building mid-tempo rocker that chugs along igniting into a very tasty guitar solo from Mr. Skid Rowe. In a world of synthetic, computerized lifeless music it is refreshing to hear some music played raw and close to the bo
ne.
Lastly, we have “Barmaid” opening up with some beautiful vocal/acoustic guitar work before building into another powerful mid-tempo rocker. For me, this Smokin Mirrors EP invokes a mental image of some dirty, smoky, sleazy rock bar. You know the one, with the denim-clad, tattooed waitresses, the smell of whiskey and sweat, the neon Jack Daniels sign above the bar and a band like Chemical Burn up onstage delivering the rock!
Looking very forward to catching these songs live on May 5th when they take the stage in support of Mr. Traci Guns at Toronto’s Rockpile.
Wallygator Norton
BUY: Chemical Burn – Smokin Mirrors
Chemical Burn Website / Chemical Burn Facebook / Chemical Burn Twitter
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTFDHzNj9hQ[/embedyt]
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