Stone Axe / Sun Gods In Exile – Split 7″ 2010

Stone Axe / Sun Gods In Exile - Split 7" 2010In the whole history of art there are certain eras that stand out as capturing a moment such as expressionism, the art nouveau movement, the works of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, silent movies…etc and each has an influence on successive generations. Rock and roll is no different…from rockabilly to psychedelia to synth pop, they’re all of a time but evoke such devotion in people that they seek to emulate and recapture those halcyon days. In terms of heavy rock the 70’s are often held up as the pinnacle era…technology was improving so bands could sound bigger and heavier and the 60’s had opened so many musical doors for the younger generation that the scope of influences became limitless and heavy rock and roll in the 70’s was a fresh and exciting time, free from genre pigeon holing where bands could flirt with the blues, jazz, country…even classical to create new and powerful sounds. Is it any wonder that so many bands today seek to recapture the vibe of that decade. On this split piece of plastic reside two of the finest bands around taking the 70’s rock template and setting guitars to kick-ass!!!

First up we have Stone Axe, probably the most blatant and sincere of all the bands out there looking to recreate that special something that made the 70’s rock!!! “On With the Show” is a confident, strutting slice of 70’s rifferama that evokes the spirit of Bad Company jamming with Leafhound, jamming with Kiss!!! Tony Reed’s guitar reeks of burning valves and Dru Brinkerhoff’s soulful vocals scale the heady heights of Messers Coverdale and Rogers…no mean feat. If someone told me this was an obscure lost 35 year old track I’d have no reason not to believe you. This could easily have been recorded through a desk the size of the Starship Enterprises control panel onto a nice fresh piece of 2″ tape. This definitely comes from an era when the crowd freaked out under a cloud of blue smoke and the girls flashed their titties at the band!!!

Sun Gods in Exile have a tough task ahead of them to match the borderline perfection of Stone Axe but they boys roll up the sleeves of their shirts, wipe the oil off their hands and pull on their dusty old cowboy boots and set to work. They’re not worried about the competition and we shouldn’t be either as “Tuscon” channels the goodtime southern vibes of Molly Hatchet, adds a dose of AC/DC and a touch of Foghat to pull off a beautiful piece of big balled groove with a chorus that will grab you by the ears and force you to go down on it like a cheap hooker!!! Lead breaks burst out of the mix like the 80’s never happened and Adam’s voice sits stridently on the top of proceedings…cracked and smoked out like the bastard offspring of Bon Scott, Alice Cooper and Ronnie Van Zandt.

One piece of plastic, two songs and a cover with a picture of a guitar speaker cab on it…no fucking about, this is as rock and roll as it gets…if only they could have got it to smell of weed smoke and liquor!!! This is strictly limited so grab a copy and brag to your lame-ass mates about it!!!

Label: Hydro-Phonic Records
Stone Axe: www.stoneaxeband.com
Sun Gods In Exile: www.myspace.com/sungodsrock

Scribed by: Ollie Stygall