Formed in Manchester in 2013 Gorilla Riot have a good few miles under the belt as well as a string of EP’s and singles but 2020 sees the release of their first full-length ‘Peach’. And what a Peach it is, if you’ll pardon the pun, that is if you like those juicy Peaches all packed with Dirty Grungy Bluesy Rock and Roll.
What first strikes you about opener ‘Riders I’ is how big and chunky and heavy the opening riff is before the first guitar refrain chimes in followed after a while by another. It’s just over two minutes of instrumental foreboding that leads into ‘Riders II’ which I can best describe as a distillation of what came before with a towering vocal added and the groove quotient upped to ‘Free meets Soundgarden’ levels with added Southern Rock intensity. It’s a heavy guitar lovers dream as it all culminates in a huge two and a half minute guitar blazing outtro. Wow, what an introduction!
‘Still Doing Time’ has a firm beat and a snakeskin groove with a fuzzy vocal that clears as it nears you, its a solid song alive with guitar and bad intentions. ‘Mind Your Head’ that follows is a wailing wall of solo from the off that coalesces into a rambling blues with a cool refrain and a guitar sound that reminds me of late 70’s Joe Perry. So far I’m impressed, and we haven’t even looked at either of the albums singles yet.
The first of those comes in the form of ‘Half Cut’ which again employs a gargantuan stomping groove and really gets to the heart of that professed dirty blues influence. The vocals are great but are pushed aside by the guitar again for a solo the size of a song that smashes and builds and for a while flies East before it comes crashing to an end. I’m really starting to love these guys!
‘Young Guns’ the album’s other single so far moves things up a gear and adds some Southern Harmony to the flame along with a solid groove; before ‘Help The Guilty’ buries you in a deluge of blues before finally wrapping you in its gentle wings before singing your eyebrows off with that searing solo. ‘Reckless Till Death’ ups the pace again, placing the foot firmly on the gas and your face simultaneously as it swaggers with a touch of Tyla into the sunset. It reminds me of the sort of full-bodied stomp Cry of Love did so well back in the day.
And this album keeps on giving: ‘Black Heart Woman’ is a wonderful molten mess of classic rock and groove-laden funky blues; and ‘Prayer For Suckers’ finds that rich and wonderful land where melody and grunge meet that arguably was last charted by Alice in Chains and none since.
We closer ever so strongly too. ‘Beat Your Bite’ starts out like a clean take on a rather large AC/DC rocker and develops that groove. It’s the most wantonly melodic track on the album and one on which Arjun Bhishma shines,maybe even the only track here where he gets top billing rather than sharing it with the wonderful guitars of Charly T and Liam Henry. But this is certainly an album were everyone gets noticed and James ‘Deggy’ Degnen (bass) steals the closer ‘Chuggin” along with his partner in crime Will Lewis on drums. It’s an old school rocker with a bit of a Bad Co. vibe that delivers the perfect final punch.
This is a ‘debut’ that sounds quite stunning, recalling at times bands as diverse as Collective Soul, Cry of Love, Black Stone Cherry, Alice in Chains, Blind Melon and The Black Crowes, but really sounding like none of the above. I think of it as a good a riff on that similar and simmering pot of influences those bands probably shared, with a Southern kicker. This is far from a Southern Rock album though, and more than impressive. 22020 could well be their big year. An album launch show will be held at Rebellion, Manchester, UK on Saturday 8th February 2020.
Tracklist: 1. Riders I | 2. Riders II |3. Still Doing Time |4. Mind Your Head | 5. Half Cut | 6. Young Guns| 7. Help the Guilty | 8. Reckless Till Death | 9. Black Heart Woman | 10. Prayer for Suckers | 11. Beat Your Bite
Gorilla Riot is:
Arjun Bhishma – Lead Vocals / Guitars
Liam Henry – Guitars / Backing Vocals
Charly T – Guitars / Backing Vocals
James ‘Deggy’ Degnen – Bass
Will Lewis – Drums
LIVE DATES:
Sat 08 Feb – Album Release Show, Rebellion, Manchester
Sat 29 Feb – Winter’s End Festival, Poole
Sat 21 Mar – Bannerman’s Edinburgh
Sun 22 Mar – The Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool
Fri 27 Mar – Cobblestones, Bridgwater
Sat 28 Mar – Crazy Cowboy 5, Facebar, Reading (headline)
Sat 18 Apr – NWOCR Fest, Leo’s Red Lion, Gravesend (special guests)
Fri 05 Jun – Loverocks Festival, Nr Bournemouth
Sat 06 Jun – Echo Music Club, Hook