"Avast, ye landlubbers! From the deepest darkest depths of the Caribbean comes ALESTORM, a drunken band of pirates on an epic quest to drink your beer, steal your rum, and be the greatest damn band that ever did sail the seven seas!
From humble beginnings playing shows to farm animals in a field somewhere in Eastern Scotland, Alestorm have evolved into an international party machine hellbent on conquering album charts and festival stages throughout the world, with their infectious brand of 'Pirate Metal' and their dashing good looks. Somehow they've managed to convince hundreds of thousands of people from New Zealand to Argentina to Lithuania and everywhere inbetween (except Paraguay), that it's cool to wear a pirate hat and sing stupid songs about getting drunk and stealing ships. So prepare your spleens, because Alestorm are coming to kick ass and chew gum. And they're all out of ass.
Also, they have a giant inflatable duck. Does your band have a giant inflatable duck? No. I didn't think so."
This is my underground music review of Rival Tides, a Los Angeles-based rock band that thrives on mixing aggression with positivity. Since forming in November 2012, the five-piece group continues to pour their hearts into their music and live performances to create deeper connections with their fans.
This was one of those magnificent surprises. I had been searching for nearly 3 weeks for a new musical act to love, and this band had fallen in my lap (or onto my Twitter) quite some time ago and I hadn't even noticed. Out of, let's face it, desperation, I decided to go through my Twitter followers to see if there was anything there worth sharing. Surprise! About four artists in I found magic. All I would like to know is where are all of the A&R guys at and what are they doing with their time? Wasting it I guess, because why aren't these guys signed?! Finding musicians like this just makes me want to go take out a gigantic loan and start up my own small label, no joke.
One thing I found that I loved about this band (aside from their amazing sound) is their level of support for artists they believe in. What I found when I stumbled over to their official website was a list of other amazing band, from which I went on to find some of my even greater loves. When I did my video review, I bought the physical copy of their album. I got it in the mail and went on with life, enjoying their music and the music of other bands they had suggested to the world. Later on, I found the envelope that CD had come in, but before I threw it away I checked inside and found a small note I had missed when I received my CD, thanking me personally for my support and saying that they hope I'm enjoying that list of bands (which I had mentioned in my video review). My point is that not only is this a clearly talented band, but also clearly a bunch of great human beings. And trust me, following them on their social media is something you won't regret!
Click on the thumbnail for my video review of this band:
I'm a sucker for a lot of things when it comes to music. There so many little things musicians can do to make me turn into butter. Acoustic tracks are, hands down, at the very top of that list. It just happened by accident that the first track I heard of Rebel Revive's was an acoustic version of "Skeletons" but it sure did leave me entranced. Of course, I had to follow that up with the album version of the very same song. I was expecting it to be good, but it's hard for anything to compete with an acoustic sound for me. I was very happily surprised to find that I love the album version of the song just as much as the acoustic version. And even better, the entire album, XI (Eleven), is a wonderful experience that picked me up and set me in a new place outside of my own world throughout the duration. That's right, this album is one of those living, breathing, experiences. It's a universe all it's own, and a great place to escape to. They have a beautiful and powerful rock sound. Trust me, this is one that you don't want to miss out on!
