#hardrock Tuesday: Nothing More and Gemini Syndrome
Sometimes we need a little hard rock in our lives. It’s kinda like what Chuck was talking about on this week’s MetalSucks podcast — we spend so much time listening to incredibly demanding and complicated music that it can be a nice change of pace to sit back and soak in something that’s a whole lot simpler. Enjoy the song for the song’s sake instead of picking apart every little detail of each instrument. Turn your brain off and listen with your body. Ya know? Long time readers of this site know that I’ve got an occasional sweet tooth for hard rock anyway. And so: two bands I’ve recently stumbled upon follow.
First up is a new band called Nothing More. Apparently these guys were the “it” band coming out of the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento last month, although that’s only hearsay — sometimes the industry has a way of spiraling up buzz into an unstoppable cyclone that appears way bigger than it actually is, if you know what I mean. But checking out their video for the song “Christ Copyright” I totally get it; these guys have all the hallmarks of modern active rock radio — that is, their music sounds like it could’ve been released in the year 2001 and it’s catchy — but it’s also got an element of psuedo-smartness to it (relative to most #hardrock) that makes it appealing to industry types who hear a lot of this stuff every day. It’s got a little bit of Tool and a little bit of 10 Years (who themselves had a TON of Tool) and maybe a dash of early Incubus. All in all it’s not spectacular but as far as modern active rock goes it’s pretty decent:
Next up we’ve got Gemini Syndrome, a band that’s already off to a big start. They’re touring with a very big band that I will refrain from naming here to avoid risk of negative association, and their visual appearance is so embarrassing and contrived I’m not going to bother posting their music video. But their music reminds me of early ’00s Mudvayne — when that band stopped trying to be so tuff and started writing good songs — mixed with a touch of Animosity-era Sevendust, perhaps. You guys KNOW I loves me some Sevendust. And I like this! So I’m going to post the entire new Gemini Syndrome album Lux for streaming below, via Spotify, and let you decide for yourself. You are probably going to hate this but fuck you it’s my blog.
