JAMMING WITH SNAKE SUSTAINE

Seems like forever ago that A Life Once Lost released Iron Gag in 2007; the PA groovesters haven’t done a whole lot of touring following the initial album cycle and as such they aren’t at the forefronts of metalheads’ minds at the moment. Their deal with Ferret Music has expired, and not having a record label at the moment probably isn’t helping. Will their absence from the scene over the past couple of years help build anticipation for a new release or will it kill any momentum they had? Hard to say, but I for one am definitely excited to hear what they come up with next.

In the meantime, guitarist Snake Sustaine (his momma calls him Doug) has been keeping busy with a band of his own namesake, also featuring his brother and ALOL drummer Justin Graves. As I’ve said before in this space, side projects provide a great look into the influences — often non-metal — it’s really interesting to see what drives musicians and where their creativity will take them when they aren’t bound by having to write in a certain style for a certain band. For Sustaine it’s bluesy garage rock with just a trace of screaming / post-hardcore shouting vocals to bridge it to metal, like something The White Stripes might make if they had a bit more balls.

Snake’s solo project has been making noise for a couple of years already, but they’ve got a new track called “Divinity” up on their MySpace page right now. Check it out.

-VN