‘Fuck Grifter!’ Had to get that off my chest and should explain why. The Internet warriors of the old Terrorizer forum used to diss each and every band trying to promote themselves on it, Grifter fought their corner better than most and these two words became synonymous as a bit of a running gag. The band hailing from Devon wrote a very nice letter with this EP saying that although they are not the most metal of bands they hoped we would give it a go. Well no problems there as I like the cut of their jib and having heard a few tracks before knew that this was likely to rock out a lot heavier than some of the sorry excuses for music that do try to sneak under our radar. I also very much liked the way they say on the disc booklet that everything we hear was thrown down live, complete with any mistakes and bum notes as rock n’ roll was never meant to be perfect, great convictions to stand by.
‘The Voices’ stomps in and drops a heavy payload. Bass tones are nice and heavy, leaden and swaggering and singer Ollie has a real classic sounding vocal approach, a bit on the gnarly side making you think a bottle of whisky may have helped the recording process. This is rocky and groovy taking in everything heavy and stoner you could possibly namedrop (they cite influences being AC/DC, Motorhead and Clutch) and layering it out with fuzzy finesse. Maybe it’s due to the looser vocal stance on ‘Blind Rat Swarm’ but I can hear a bit of Danzig going down here. It’s a simple song that infectiously plays the blues as it sways down a dusky road parched and looking for a drink. Guitar solos are neat adding a bit of a backbone before the by now memorable vocal hooks swing back in. ‘Pendulum’ has one of those riffs that is again full of simplicity and a classic sound again is very much the key and it’s a mighty one. Finishing on a more upbeat number, a jiggy refrain sees ‘I Jesus’ chugging away to the finish line and concluding this all too short release on the bounce.
I am not sure why I haven’t seen this band live before as I really feel like I should have done and they would be a perfect opener for a band like Orange Goblin or even someone visiting from further afield, probably a troupe of hangdog rednecks from Texas. On the strength of this I am glad to read plans are afoot for a full length although they have to find the money to record it. Buying this may help the cause. You also get a free yell of ‘Fucking Cunt’ at the end of the last song possibly dedicated to Internet warriors everywhere?
http://www.myspace.com/grifterrock
