Stereo Virgins ‘333 / Blood & Fire’ 7” 2014
Despite hailing from Merseyside, emerging Stoner act Stereo Virgins have found themselves more at home in the Leeds music scene, rubbing shoulders with fellow heavy metal maniacs Black Moth and BongCauldron.
On the face of things, their home town was seriously missing out on a great act until they were asked to play the Liverpool SoundCity festival last year to a thankfully rapturous reception, because honestly Stereo Virgins are pretty damn cool.
Founding sisters Becki and Rachel Alveston have assembled a quartet of Sabbath loving riff devotees who have come together with one single purpose. To rock out, and have a good time doing it.
This vibe oozes from the speakers as soon as you spin ‘333‘ and the band kicks things off with a delicious Sabotage era sounding riff that is grungy and fuzzed out, yet hard edged and taut at the same time. Fans of Red Fang and Goatsnake should sit up and listen because Stereo Virgins are looking to go toe to toe with exactly that sort of music as the band blend the driving urgent rhythm guitar with a hypnotic, other worldly feel.
Over the murky maelstrom Rachel comes across like a sultry Stoner Goddess, mesmerizing with her mid-range crooning and off kilter moments. This coupled with additional lead guitar accents and powerful drumming courtesy of Stu Sinclair and Lyam Kirkham respectively, makes it little wonder that the band have impressed to the point that they were touted on the Terrorizer website.
The B Side ‘Blood & Fire‘ is more of the same retro sounding bullishness. This time the slow, rolling riff has a loose and open feel that allows the vocals and the drums more space for freedom and unconventional expression. With the greater room for experimentation it is easy to see how the band has drawn comparisons to Josh Homme’s boundary pushing Desert Sessions project.
In addition to the more direct flavourings of the A Side, here there are moment s that showcase all the members talents including a trippy solo and some intense muscular riffing that is heavy on the low end.
This two track taster does the great trick of leaving you hungry for more. On the strength of this, Stereo Virgins have a great future as they do what they do very well. A churlish person may find some of the riffs a little familiar sounding, but the addition of great song writing touches, little left field moves in terms of where they go musically and Alveston’s voice, part herald of doom, part seductress, makes them stand out from the current crop of rehearsal room bong guzzlers.
Label: Crone Records
Band Links: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Scribed by: Mark Hunt-Bryden