Stone Vengeance
By: D-Day
To Kill Evil
The Angel
I recently received two CD’s from our new friends, Stone Vengeance, called To Kill Evil and The Angel.
I first brought The Angel to work and stuck it in the computer to listen to, but playing through shitty computer speakers and my being constantly interrupted made that a bad idea. Fortunately, I was asked to make a trip to another company that would have me on the road for about three hours each way and the timing was perfect. I was enclosed in a rental car, cruising interstates 64 and 81 with band members Mike Coffey, Anthony Starks, and Darren Tompkins along for the ride. (plug for the Ford Motor Company: The 2005 Taurus was a comfortable ride and the stereo system was more than adequate)
I realize that many of you hate to hear comparisons between bands in album reviews, but I feel it may be necessary to give people a general idea of what Stone Vengeance sounds like, and I also suck at these type of things and could never describe it right on my own. While SV has a definite sound all their own, two bands that crossed my mind while listening to these discs were Di’Anno - era Iron Maiden and Suicidal Tendencies. “Gee, D-Day”, you may be thinking, “that’s an odd mix.” Well, if you were to hear it, I think you may understand what I mean.
Also, while it took me a few spins, I grew to like the “raw” sound from these two discs and the “real” experience they delivered. I’ll explain more on that a little later.
To Kill Evil
This is probably my favorite, overall, of the two. Mike and the guys may want to fly over here and pop me in the back of the head for saying that (since it’s the older one) but it’s true. The album has copyright dates of 1987, 1990 and 1998, so I can assume it’s a compilation of music made throughout the years and brought together for this album.
The album starts off rocking with the title track and pretty much keeps that pace throughout with the exception of “Pain”, which as the title infers, is a heartfelt song discussing the many shitty situations occurring in society, and is one of my favorites on this album.
There are also four bonus tracks, including a humorous and funky “Chase”. (picture old Chili Peppers / Infectious Grooves for an idea of the basic style) This one had me laughing!
The tracks are:
1) To Kill Evil
2) Time is as Hand
3) Pain
4) The Great Controversy
5) The Persecution
6) Bullfight (short instrumental)
7) Malice
8) Higher Now
9) Wrath Cometh
10) Long Live Stone Vengeance
Bonus Tracks:
11) Chase
12) Pain (extended version)
13) Foxy Lady (yes, the Hendrix tune)
14) The Pill
The Angel
The Angel was released in 2000 and keeps pace with To Kill Evil in the energy and rock department. This disc has my favorite song out of the two albums, “Running Low”, and I would challenge anyone to listen to this song and not start singing it out of the blue sometime later in the day. It’s one of those rocking, yet catchy songs that just stick in your brain. (which is a GOOD thing)
There’s also some blues in the aptly titled, “Stone Vengeance Blues” (which actually gave me some more laughs, though maybe it wasn’t meant to, I’m not sure…) and another deep, thought provoking song, “Tears By A Grave” which is depressing, yet beautiful at the same time, if that makes any sense to you.
Summation of the two:
Hearing these albums gave me faith in REAL bands that are still going today and carrying the torch for rock and traditional metal. I would absolutely love to hear these guys on a major label just to experience the “wall of sound” that major labels create. However, after spinning these albums countless times I’ve grown to love the honest feel that they produce as well. This brings me back to the point I alluded to earlier in the review when I used the terms “raw” and “real”. Mike Coffey, Happy Sanchez and Larry “The Genius” Santiago (mentioned in the sleeves) did a great job in producing these albums as they are, but there’s not the typical sound of a million guitar overdubs and 6 voices blending in, that you would normally hear on a major production. I’d be a liar if I said that I wouldn’t want to hear it, just to see how it turns out (and I’m sure it would kick ass), but I also got a great idea of how Stone Vengeance would be able to entertain a crowd by listening to these albums. How many times have you heard a live version of one of your favorite songs and thought, “Whaaaa….???? That’s not how I remember it?” Well, that won’t happen in this case. No, these aren’t live recordings, but you know that what you hear is what you get and that if you see them live it would only be magnified ten-fold. I, personally, can’t wait to experience Stone Vengeance LIVE somewhere, some time. In the mean time, I highly recommend The Angel and To Kill Evil to any Metal Head or true rock fan and to support what seems to be a dying breed, or at least if the general media has anything to say about it.
Two good albums by a great band that sticks to what they love and has no “window dressing” to disguise a lack of talent like so many others. And isn’t that what it’s REALLY all about?
As track 10 on To Kill Evil states: Long Live Stone Vengeance
