This post marks what I hope will be the beginning a new ongoing series. In this post I'm introducing you all to a group of guys who are based in Virginia who call themselves Steelshot. I've been listening to and reading about them a lot lately in preparation for this post and in doing so it made me think of all the bands and artists out there who are trying to make it in the music business. There's a ton of them out there and that's putting it mildly. I've noticed that I have several up and coming people following me on twitter, all at different levels in their careers. Some have music out and available for purchase, like the band I'm going to be talking about now. Others haven't gotten to that point yet. Some have been at it for years and others are just starting out. It's a hard road to choose, a tough dream to chase and it can be so hard for people to get themselves out there. And I've decided that I'd like to try and help these people out as much as possible.
So if you're reading this and you're trying to make it as an artist or know someone who is and would like me to write about you/them, let me know! Either through a comment on here, on twitter @countrymusicATK or you can email me at countrymusicatk@hotmail.com. This post should give you a pretty good idea what you can expect. I'd write a little bit about you and what you're about and then a review of anything you might want me to review. Just know that I will be completely honest about what I think of the music and any criticism that I might have is always intended to be constructive. Not to say that I would automatically have any, but I wanted to get that out there. Thank you to Steelshot for planting this idea in my head.
Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the men of the moment: Steelshot.
Steelshot is made up of Josh Duncan (vocals), Jason Yarbrough (guitar), Ryan Nuttle (guitar), Mike Barham (bass) and T.J. Sutherland (drums). They call their style of music Country Metal and I have to admit that when I saw that about them, I really had no idea what to expect. This will not come as a shock to anyone who knows me, but I really don't listen to metal. I know of some of the artists and have heard a handful of songs, but my knowledge of that genre is pretty limited. Aside from metal, Steelshot is influenced by Southern rock and guess what else I really don't listen to a lot of? Southern rock. Right off the bat I knew this was bound to be an interesting experience and was curious to see what I thought of this new genre that they'd apparently created.
In listening to Steelshot, I was reminded of something I've always believed in very strongly and that is that every artist deserves to have people listen to them with an open mind. One, because I believe that everyone deserves a chance. And two, because in doing so you might just discover something you like. Don't be put off by something just because it's something you're not used to listening to or because you don't know anything about it. This can apply to a lot of things now that I think about it. Does that mean you'll always like what you hear? Of course not, but at least you gave it a shot. Luckily for me and the guys of Steelshot, in this case I liked what I heard.
I can honestly say that when I try and think about who they might remind me of, I have a very hard time coming up with anyone. I hear all sorts of influences when I listen to them, influences that combine to give them something that sets them apart. Before I continue I want to remind everyone that my knowledge of both metal and Southern rock is limited. In saying that, one thing I have noticed about the metal music that I have heard is that they tend to stick with the same tones all the time, musically speaking. They tend to use the same kinds of riffs and whatnot and I know that that's a big part of the style, but for me, it's one of the reasons why I don't really listen to it. I like when musicians are able to create different tones in their music and that's one thing that the guys in Steelshot do very well. You hear all kinds of different tones and riffs in their music and that makes me happy.
As musicians, they're pretty rock solid and they seem to think a little outside of the box when it comes to solos which is a great thing. There's been quite a few times where I've found myself expecting to hear one thing, but got something else entirely. There a lot of nice playing to be found in their music and I like how they can create a great energy while staying pretty clean. The riffs are nice and musical which I appreciate. Very solid vocals by Josh Duncan throughout too. His voice suits the music perfectly and has a nice tone to it, very strong delivery as well. He's one of those singers who I feel will only improve and get stronger with time. I mean that as a compliment. I like listening to singers and feeling like they have room to grow; not because they need to, but because of they could. Hopefully that makes sense.
Now to talk about some of the songs. Before I get to that, I want to say that if you want to learn a little more about them you can check them out at their website http://www.steelshotrocks.com/. You can also check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/steelshotmusic, or here: http://www.reverbnation.com/steelshot. They can also be found on twitter at @steelshotband.
The songs I'm going to be talking about are all found on their self-titled EP, which they released last summer. The EP can be found on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/steelshot/id453577580, CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/steelshot and Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/7r9ou3t. Consider this a mini-review.
"Break Free" This one kicks things off and has a nice energy to it, apparent from the beginning and carried nicely throughout. I like the way it builds and think it was a good way to start out the EP. Very nice guitar solo in this one.
"Alive Again" I really like the energy in this one and feel like this would be a fun one to see live. Some great playing here. The guitar solo during this might just be my favorite one on the EP.
"Never Understand" A pretty different feel to this one than the other two, this one has a stronger country sound to it. Particularly during the first part. I like the way this song flows and think it's very well-crafted. Nice lyrics here. One of my favorites.
"In Too Deep" The last song was slightly more relaxed and now it's kicked back up some. I can just imagine how this one is live. Feels like a great concert song to me. For the sake of being nit-picky, I'll say that I think it could've been cut off a couple of seconds sooner than it is on here but that's really not a big deal.
"Voices" This might be my favorite, I really like this one. Great feel to it and I'd say this is Josh's strongest vocal. This is one of those songs that belongs on radio; I feel like it could do very well there if given a chance. Love the playing on this one too, especially the way the band kicks in. I also like how it starts and ends the same way.
"Southern Pride" Easily the most country song on here, especially lyrically speaking. It leans heavily to the rock side, but I could hear it played on a country station and imagine it could do pretty well. Talk about a song that seems made for a live show.
Steelshot is one of those bands that's very hard to fit into any one genre. Their music is a fusion of country, Southern rock and metal, along with dashes of other styles in there on top of it. I really don't think they fit neatly into any genre in particular and you know what? That's okay. In fact I'd even say that it's a good thing. Are they traditionally country? Not in any sense of the word. Is there country to be found? Absolutely. Though it might require a bit of an open mind. I really hope that everyone who reads this decides to go on iTunes or wherever and give them a listen and see what you think. I've heard some of the stuff they're working on and I like the direction they seem to be going in. So check them out!
So if you're reading this and you're trying to make it as an artist or know someone who is and would like me to write about you/them, let me know! Either through a comment on here, on twitter @countrymusicATK or you can email me at countrymusicatk@hotmail.com. This post should give you a pretty good idea what you can expect. I'd write a little bit about you and what you're about and then a review of anything you might want me to review. Just know that I will be completely honest about what I think of the music and any criticism that I might have is always intended to be constructive. Not to say that I would automatically have any, but I wanted to get that out there. Thank you to Steelshot for planting this idea in my head.
Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the men of the moment: Steelshot.
Steelshot is made up of Josh Duncan (vocals), Jason Yarbrough (guitar), Ryan Nuttle (guitar), Mike Barham (bass) and T.J. Sutherland (drums). They call their style of music Country Metal and I have to admit that when I saw that about them, I really had no idea what to expect. This will not come as a shock to anyone who knows me, but I really don't listen to metal. I know of some of the artists and have heard a handful of songs, but my knowledge of that genre is pretty limited. Aside from metal, Steelshot is influenced by Southern rock and guess what else I really don't listen to a lot of? Southern rock. Right off the bat I knew this was bound to be an interesting experience and was curious to see what I thought of this new genre that they'd apparently created.
In listening to Steelshot, I was reminded of something I've always believed in very strongly and that is that every artist deserves to have people listen to them with an open mind. One, because I believe that everyone deserves a chance. And two, because in doing so you might just discover something you like. Don't be put off by something just because it's something you're not used to listening to or because you don't know anything about it. This can apply to a lot of things now that I think about it. Does that mean you'll always like what you hear? Of course not, but at least you gave it a shot. Luckily for me and the guys of Steelshot, in this case I liked what I heard.
I can honestly say that when I try and think about who they might remind me of, I have a very hard time coming up with anyone. I hear all sorts of influences when I listen to them, influences that combine to give them something that sets them apart. Before I continue I want to remind everyone that my knowledge of both metal and Southern rock is limited. In saying that, one thing I have noticed about the metal music that I have heard is that they tend to stick with the same tones all the time, musically speaking. They tend to use the same kinds of riffs and whatnot and I know that that's a big part of the style, but for me, it's one of the reasons why I don't really listen to it. I like when musicians are able to create different tones in their music and that's one thing that the guys in Steelshot do very well. You hear all kinds of different tones and riffs in their music and that makes me happy.
As musicians, they're pretty rock solid and they seem to think a little outside of the box when it comes to solos which is a great thing. There's been quite a few times where I've found myself expecting to hear one thing, but got something else entirely. There a lot of nice playing to be found in their music and I like how they can create a great energy while staying pretty clean. The riffs are nice and musical which I appreciate. Very solid vocals by Josh Duncan throughout too. His voice suits the music perfectly and has a nice tone to it, very strong delivery as well. He's one of those singers who I feel will only improve and get stronger with time. I mean that as a compliment. I like listening to singers and feeling like they have room to grow; not because they need to, but because of they could. Hopefully that makes sense.
Now to talk about some of the songs. Before I get to that, I want to say that if you want to learn a little more about them you can check them out at their website http://www.steelshotrocks.com/. You can also check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/steelshotmusic, or here: http://www.reverbnation.com/steelshot. They can also be found on twitter at @steelshotband.
The songs I'm going to be talking about are all found on their self-titled EP, which they released last summer. The EP can be found on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/steelshot/id453577580, CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/steelshot and Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/7r9ou3t. Consider this a mini-review.
"Break Free" This one kicks things off and has a nice energy to it, apparent from the beginning and carried nicely throughout. I like the way it builds and think it was a good way to start out the EP. Very nice guitar solo in this one.
"Alive Again" I really like the energy in this one and feel like this would be a fun one to see live. Some great playing here. The guitar solo during this might just be my favorite one on the EP.
"Never Understand" A pretty different feel to this one than the other two, this one has a stronger country sound to it. Particularly during the first part. I like the way this song flows and think it's very well-crafted. Nice lyrics here. One of my favorites.
"In Too Deep" The last song was slightly more relaxed and now it's kicked back up some. I can just imagine how this one is live. Feels like a great concert song to me. For the sake of being nit-picky, I'll say that I think it could've been cut off a couple of seconds sooner than it is on here but that's really not a big deal.
"Voices" This might be my favorite, I really like this one. Great feel to it and I'd say this is Josh's strongest vocal. This is one of those songs that belongs on radio; I feel like it could do very well there if given a chance. Love the playing on this one too, especially the way the band kicks in. I also like how it starts and ends the same way.
"Southern Pride" Easily the most country song on here, especially lyrically speaking. It leans heavily to the rock side, but I could hear it played on a country station and imagine it could do pretty well. Talk about a song that seems made for a live show.
Steelshot is one of those bands that's very hard to fit into any one genre. Their music is a fusion of country, Southern rock and metal, along with dashes of other styles in there on top of it. I really don't think they fit neatly into any genre in particular and you know what? That's okay. In fact I'd even say that it's a good thing. Are they traditionally country? Not in any sense of the word. Is there country to be found? Absolutely. Though it might require a bit of an open mind. I really hope that everyone who reads this decides to go on iTunes or wherever and give them a listen and see what you think. I've heard some of the stuff they're working on and I like the direction they seem to be going in. So check them out!
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