Beef Supreme ‘Royal Bitch’ Digital EP 2013

Beef Supreme 'Royal Bitch'Beef Supreme were conceived back in 2007 by local rock scene veterans guitarist/vocalist Niki BelGrande , drummer Lou Chalupa and bassist Macho Grande united in the common goal of combining melodic vocals with sludgy guitars and heavy drums.

Having debuted their self titled EP for free download last year to much praise from the public as well as critics they are back with the next installment of their retro take on fuzz driven stoner rock, Royal Bitch.

Being new to the band the first thing that impresses as the delicious grungy bass ushers in a huge wall of crashing dirty rock and roll that starts off ‘The Surgeon’, is just how heavy this three piece sounds. Perfectly produced to highlight each individual member the band positively pounds, rumbles and scythes their way through a track that is part stoner/desert rock and part muscular metal, but all wrapped up in a catchy, cleverly written package that will have you humming the tune and rocking out long before the song has finished.

This is no one off alignment of talents though as ‘Milk of Amnesia’ has the same heavy, driving balance of aggression and melody that belies the bands influences, which owe a debt to stoner rock luminaries like Truckfighters and the hard rock of Fireball Ministry, BelGrande trading blistering bluesy guitar leads with the lurching fuzzy grooves of the rhythm section to great effect.

Speaking of BelGrande, if the bands sonic abilities didn’t impress enough, the vocal work for Beef Supreme are exactly the thing needed to elevate them above a million stoner clones plodding their way through rehearsal room dope hazes as they try to recreate those first five Sabbath albums.

Throughout the EP, Niki’s vocal acrobatics grab the attention of the listener, commanding, nay demanding that you take this band seriously. If the music on this EP is great, then the big gun in Beef Supreme’s arsenal is BelGrande’s pipes. Part Riot Grrrl, part sultry temptress, she shrieks, wails, rages, soars and croons her way through the four tracks with a mixture of melody and unhinged passion. There are times when she totally steals the show (no mean feat in itself) and it’s sexy as hell. It would be impressive enough, if it wasn’t for the fact that she does all this playing the guitar.

This fact is probably why it feels as if it all fits together perfectly as a package. Third track ‘Flora’ for example is chock full of groove, building off a ringing opening into a snaking riff and off beat drumming creating a slow burning atmosphere that explodes into as powerful a tune as the genre can throw up before the urgent sing a long of closing tune ‘This Is My Money (And This Is My Mouth)’. This final salvo is built around a chugging bottom end heavy riff that most bands would kill to have written, yet alone have a singer who can deliver the chorus in a manner that should see crowds screaming their lungs out and dancing in front of the stage at a gig that would deliver not only high musical quality, but a whole lot of fun.

It’s out now and it’s free from their website. So is their first EP. Seriously, if you like your rock and roll to be down and dirty, well written and packed full of tunes to shake your ass and feel reaffirmed about life by, then for the love of whatever deity you subscribe to go get them, tell your friends, tell the world.

This band is fucking great.

Label: Self Released
Website: Official | Facebook | Soundcloud | Twitter

Scribed by: Mark Hunt-Bryden