| Formed in 2009, the venerable LA super group Sonic Medusa – featuring members of Goatsnake, The Obsessed, Hollywood Rose and Angus Khan – have already drawn comparisons with the likes of Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Alice Cooper and a whole host of other, celebrated groups of the era.
With their debut EP The Sunset SoundHouse Tapes – officially released this December on the formidable Ripple Music – the band digs its heavy heels in deep, integrating the powerful influence of late 70s/early 80s NWOBHM via twin guitar assaults and rhythms reminiscent of Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest and early Iron Maiden.
Brought out of semi-retirement by the lure of making music with Sonic Medusa, Greg Rogers, who has remained at the centre of the US doom/stoner/desert rock scene as powerhouse drummer for The Obsessed and Goatsnake, joins fellow Goatsnake band mate Scott ‘The Low-End Lumberjack’ Renner. Described by all he meets as a 6’4, walking wall of sound, Renner also served time in numerous outfits as bassist for sludge/doom band Sourvein and North Carolina post punkers Brickbat.
Leading the charge up front for the Californian quartet is new singer/guitarist Dirty D – former front man of the notorious LA punk rock band B-Movie Rats, and later, the pyrotechnic Angus Khan – and fellow guitarist, Steven Darrow. Darrow, who earned his spurs as a young Californian punk with The Decadents, Christian Death and Super Heroines went on to become bass player in the mid-80s for the Motörhead-meets-Nazareth inspired hard rock band Hollywood Rose… later known as Guns ‘N’ Roses.
Sonic Medusa’s first live gig was opening for the legendary proto-metal godfathers (and one of their biggest influences), Blue Cheer. They have also shared stages with other, heavy rock pioneers such as Pentagram, Wino (St. Vitus) and young heavyweights like Radio Moscow, The Shrine, Mike Watt, The Freeks and Mothership.
With upcoming engineer/audio-guru David Schwerkolt at the board, The Sunset SoundHouse Tapes was recorded at the legendary Sunset Studios, Hollywood; the spiritual home and birthplace of definitive recordings like Exile On Main St by The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and Led Zeppelin’sIV.
The Sunset SoundHouse Tapes will be released on 11th December 2015 on Ripple Music and can be purchased digitally via Ripple’s Bandcamp page here – https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-sunset-soundhouse-tapes |
