Usually when people think of metal and Norway they automatically think black metal but believe it or not, good old fashioned rock and roll does exist in these Scandinavian countries and it’s usually pretty good too. Shotgun Rodeo is a band hailing from these Northern parts and they essentially blend thrash and heavy rock in such a brilliant way that the music grabs you by the balls and swings you around just for the fun of it.
One of the best things in the world is discovering new music that just sounds so good to your ears. Being in a position where half the music I discover falls in my lap so to speak, the passion for discovering new bands luckily never wanes but it is something many take for granted. So when I played this new EP titled “The New Standard”, I honestly didn’t know what to expect other than it was from Norway which conjured up all kinds of dark images.
But the opener “Batshit Crazy” set the tone for what was to come, a groove laden heavy rocker that has a slight whiff of that southern rock style that bands like Hellyeah are known for. It has a hell of a catchy chorus and just grooves along nicely. But it’s the follow up “Uncontainable” that really caught my attention and it’s probably one of the tracks many people will latch onto immediately. With a spray of double kicks and a cool thrashy ‘Annihilator’ type riff, it’s that combination of thrash and rock with a fluent rhythm that flows beautifully, it was headbang central with this piece. That breakdown midway that leads into the guitar solo is jaw droppingly good and one of the highlights on the EP.
The vocals here are dirty and gritty and almost remind me of Sebastian Bach in a way aka the Slave To The Grind / Subhuman type stuff but in other songs like “Around The Bend”, there is a cool contrast of clean style of singing involved which shows some diversity too. This track also has a kind of Fear Factory inspired section which was a cool surprise to see and yet worked perfectly for that moment in the song. “Drawing Blood From Stone” falls back a bit with a darker tone, it gets juicier as the song goes on adding more variety in the riffs and beat which again shows that Shotgun Rodeo are not afraid to throw a few hurdles into the mix just to keep it interesting and fresh all the way through.
The title track didn’t grab me like the rest of the EP but it’s not exactly a weak song either, it’s tongue in cheek lyrics with references to things like ‘Eat My Shorts’ is hilarious and shows their comedic side that wouldn’t be too far from some of the thrash bands that like to inject a bit of humour in their music from time to time. The final track “Scatterbrain” rounds thing off just nicely as the EP returns to that heavy groove with a tinge of that southern rock vibe. ‘The New Standard’ is a killer EP and even though it’s a few releases into their career so far, it’s still a great way to be introduced to the band. I’m off to find their previous releases now!
TRACKLIST
Batshit Crazy
Uncontainable
Around The Bend
Drawing Blood From Stone
The New Standard
Scatterbrain
