If you like your music a little bit retro, then these guys are worth a listen.
When you think of Blues-infused Rock bands, Teramo, Italy is a potentially unlikely place where you wouldn't expect one to come from, but yet here we have the debut album from Italian four-piece Sons Of Revolution.
Formed in 2013, they've stated that their influences include Rage Against The Machine, Soundgarden, Led Zeppelin and Jack White (you can certainly hear the Grunge) and all of them can be found running through their songs.
Lead off track 'I Feel Like Crying' – the one they have been using as a teaser video for the album and it's also the first single – has got a Queens Of The Stone Age 'No One Knows' vibe to it and vocal wise sounds a bit like Dan Baird. For me, that is off to a good start. 'I'm Falling' starts off with a nice little bass run and continues in the same vein as the opener in terms of feel and pace.
'I'm Coming Home', 'Wasted Youth', 'Stonewood' and 'No Way Out' all follow in a similar style. This brings me to, in my opinion, the standout entry on the album. 'Rebel For A Day' features a Bluesy Southern Rock riff and there's a JW style muted vocal delivery that starts things off, but then half way through, the whole thing steps up a few gears with a LZ 'Dazed And Confused' style jam workout complete with harmonica solo, before dropping back into the original groove. It's pretty Bluesy and I suspect even Joe Bonamassa would be proud.
'Grace', another standout cut, is next and all their influences are thrown into the mix, along with a hint of early Black Sabbath. The album's final track 'Slide 'Em', all nine minutes of it, includes distorted guitar, Neil Young-esque vocals and it's mean and moody. This song wouldn't sound out of place on the soundtrack of a Quentin Tarantino movie and is not only my second favourite but a fine way to round off proceedings.
These songs have been honed on the live circuit before the band went in to record them and they sound like they were cut pretty much live with few overdubs. All in all, this is a solid debut with a couple of standout selections and is a good foundation to build upon. If you like your music a little bit retro, then these guys are worth a listen. "Bella rumore", as they say in Teramo.
Cat O'Brien