Released By: Independent Release
Release Date: Out Now!!!
Genre: Southern Rock
Links: http://www.myspace.com/preacherstonerocks
Links: http://www.preacherstone.com/
Line Up:
Ronnie Riddle- Vocals
Marty Hill- Guitar, Dobro
Josh Sanders- Bass, Vocals
Brent Enman- Drums, Vocals
Tracklist:
01. Can’t keep a Good Man Down
02. Carved In Stone
03. Come on In
04. Early Morning Rise
05. Nuff Said
06. Hand On The Bible
07. I’ll Be Damned
08. Save My Soul
09. Don’t Take Me With You When You’re Gone
10. Judge Me Not
11. Come Together
The power of the southern rock is still something that I can’t get enough of. You now why? Well because in just about every classic rock bands since the beginning of time you have the roots of the south and the blues written on it’s back cover. When indie bands like Preacher Stone come along uplifting back the classic southern soul, it makes me want to go back and appreciate how good rock can be. I’m a sucker for bands like Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, Skynyrd, etc. Which band in rock today hasn’t been influenced by these icons?
Preacher Stone makes no excuses because they their influences are not kept hidden from plain site, some sounds that automatically come to mind are the soulful hymns of Bad Company, or the southern comfort of Skynyrd to name a few. I’m not comparing these guys to these legends, but rather trying to assimilate the sound because is really a mix of more traditional modern rock, with some nice southern blues rhythms.
You’ll be more likely to be turned up by the opening gritty rusty sounds of “Can’t Keep A Good Man Down”, the Allman Brothers influenced guitar riff in “Come On In” doesn’t sell it’s way short because the leading guitar solo here is picked with perfection. The thrill seeking continues with the bewildering and thunderous approach in “Early Morning Rise”. I couldn’t help but to compare Preacher Stone to another similar Blues/Rock band that we reviewed earlier this year in Highway 414 – Hellbound For The Highway, with the latter sounding a little more mellower and not as gutsy as these guys. Lead singer Ronnie Riddle comes off as a crossbreed between Chad Kroger and Shaun Morgan from Seether. The rest of the band compliments the overall sound pretty well given the material at hand.
As much as for the message as well as the music in “Hand On The Bible” plays very well done, a very exclusive ballad that is surprisingly uplifting and left full of hope. Each track has something to offer in terms of quality, and production is surprisingly solid for an indie release. Some kudos must be noted to lead guitarist Marty Hill as he does break out some tasty guitar chops on some of the more bluesy/hard rock tracks. This is one I would recommend to any fans of Blues/Hard Rock at it integrates a more nitty gritty approach that some southern bands seem to leave out of their sound.
Written by Denys
Ratings Denys 8/10
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