Review: Granicus ‘Granicus’ [Reissue]
YouTube might not be the site it was twenty years ago, but if there is one silver lining aspect, it has always maintained that it has been a great place for discovering obscure bands who fell through the proverbial cracks of the music industry from previous decades.
It was through YouTube that I discovered the awe-inspiring space rock of Captain Beyond, the scaled-down dark blues rock of Bulbous Creation and the ripping riffage of Truth & Janey.
Another of these acts I came across was Granicus, who hailed from Cleveland. The American Midwest can be somewhat analogous to Northern England, in that it had a heavily industrialized group of urban centers that gave birth to some very aggressive hard rock music. The kind of rock which had little time for hippie pleasantries in the face of ugly reality. Granicus certainly fits that bill, and RidingEasy Records brought their debut album out into the light.
There’s a righteous sense of hunger and anger with Granicus’ music. Falsetto-wielding vocalist Woody Leffel had already cut his teeth playing in several local Cleveland acts as well as joining Detroit’s legendary garage rock scene. He returned to Cleveland and formed Granicus with guitarists Wayne Anderson and Alan Pinell, bassist Dale Bedford and drummer Joe Battaglia. The band focused on writing original material rather than constant gigging and utilized an empty warehouse as a practice spot for a full year, honing their own craft while many of their peers were playing covers.
Album opener You’re In America stylistically flows like Deep Purple and Uriah Heep, but the enraged lyrics, ‘We’re all the Americans! And who stole this land? WE DID! WE DID!’, are politically closer to that of The MC5. Leffel isn’t remotely subtle with his singing, often prompting comparisons to Robert Plant, Geddy Lee and Budgie’s Burke Shelley.
Their music was raucous, honest and visceral, straight out of a sonic womb that birthed so much of what we love today…
The second track Bad Talk is my favorite and constitutes what should have been Granicus’ best-known single. It hits a bit like Blue Cheer with Anderson’s mournful lead guitar but with a more streamlined attack, with Leffel again sounding suitably pissed off. Twilight is a wispy instrumental ballad in the tradition of Black Sabbath’s laid-back numbers off of Master Of Reality or Volume 4, while the Led Zeppelin vibe rings true on the caustic Prayer.
Some spirited drumming from Battaglia carries the harrying bluesy boogie Cleveland, Ohio which is the furthest thing from a loving ode to the band’s hometown with the lyric ‘I’m gonna scream! I’m gonna shout! I’m getting out of Cleveland Ohio!’, a mindset of many of a working-class kid in an industrial town. The decidedly British sounding Nightmare brings to mind the pastoral prog of Wishbone Ash and Jethro Tull, showcasing the band’s range and very focused sound. The final tracks When You’re Movin’ and Paradise are solid rockers with every bit of the romp and stomp you’d want to let loose after a long day.
Unfortunately, RCA Records ultimately set up Granicus with a one album deal and they broke up before the ball got rolling. They weren’t nearly as successful as fellow Cleveland acts like The James Gang nor have they earned their place as innovators among heavy rock historians, but they absolutely deserved a shot at the big time. Their music was raucous, honest and visceral, straight out of a sonic womb that birthed so much of what we love today.
Label: RidingEasy Records
Band Links: Spotify
Scribed by: Rob Walsh
