New Artist Alert: Bad Wolf - Stay With Me

 Photo by Raiya Corsiglia

Happy New Year! I'm opening my account this year with some female-fronted rock in the form of Bad Wolf, an LA-based quartet who are making serious inroads in the music industry and taking advantage of YouTube with a video that's had over 11,000 views and counting since it was published just days ago.

The band bring "sci-fi, fantasy and steampunk to life within the backdrop of rock music" and their fairytale-inspired video for Stay With Me is certainly no exception to this rule. Of the video, the band say it "pays homage to several different fairytales" which certainly take on a sinister edge with their 'backdrop' of rock music; think the aesthetics and storyline of a Rammstein video meets the looks and sound of an Evanescence song.

Musically, it's a steady rock track which will sit well on the Scuzz music-video playlist whilst visually it features both beautiful people and beautiful wolves; what's not to love?! There's a big feel behind the scenes to the music, a wall of noise that is quite the constant but broken, in contrast, by the haunting lead-female vocals. It's nice the band features of a good mix vocally, and the harmonies especially work well in supporting the lead vocals though, and this is purely a post-production point rather than a song-writing one, the male vocals stand out a little too sharply for my liking. The bridge section really lifts the song and makes all the difference in taking it too the next level; a really strong touch.

The band look great, they sound great, and Bad Wolf will be sure to fit in comfortably with the rest of the pack.

You can watch the video for Stay With Me for yourself below, and be sure to check out the band on Facebook to keep up to date. Enjoy :)

Fools For Rowan...One Year On!

So I had an email this evening with an update from the Fools For Rowan guys, who have cropped up in my online-subconscious over the past few months being an opening act for Evanescence recently. I like to know when I last wrote about an act if I'm revisiting them to ensure it's not too soon for you guys or for them, nobody likes too much of a good thing. SO anyway, it turns out that my previous post on the Nashville rockers was exactly a year ago tomorrow!

So there you have it, exactly one year on and where are the guys now? Well, for a start, they've a new EP which is released tomorrow, July 3rd, on iTunes. And yes, that's their When We Were Beautiful birthday, which I'm sure the guys were keen to make sure was celebrated in style. The EP's titled 'Who Killed Amanda Day?' and features 6-tracks which I'm assured are "packed with authentic lyrics, powerful vocals, and high-strung beats that stay true to rock genres of the past and present." according to the bands' press-release.

The single, 'Killed A Man Today' (Amanda day...a man today?) fronts the EP and, as the lead single, is complimented with a great video which you can check out below. The track kicks off with some funky rim-work on the drum shells before building with some rocking bass and driving riff-based guitars. As the vocals drop the song eases into a pulsing rhythmic-jog in the verses and punches with a great chorus that really flaunts the awesome lead female-rock vocals. The song is packed with energy and angst whilst maintaining a radio-friendly edge that should please listeners at both end of the spectrum. If you're not humming the killer riff for the rest of the day, you obviously weren't listening properly.

'Who Killed Amanda Day' is out July 3rd on iTunes and the guys are of course on Facebook. Be sure to check out their video, have a scroll through the photos, try and catch them live if you can, and definitely get a copy of the EP for yourself. Help keep music live and support these artists who have got the potential to make it big but need YOUR help to break into the mainsteam. Enjoy Fools For Rowan. Rock on!