GRIFTER: "Grifter"

Rating: 6/10

Label: Ripple Music 2011

Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Ehem, a quick glance at the tracklisting and you'll find charming song titles such as: 'Alabama Hotpocket', 'Asshole Parade', 'Strip Club', 'Bucktooth Woman', 'Bean', and 'Piss and Gas'. Read the usual album-notes nonsense by the band and find out that Grifter exclusively uses guitars, bass, drums, percussion, throat kebabs and Guinness. They are open to endoresment, especially from Guinness but please no shit!!! They won't use Peavey, pointy heavy metal guitars, Line 6 or any other rubbish like that. And if you're not on the (thank you) credit list it either means that they've genuinely forgotten or they think you're a cunt!!!

Watch the band photo and end up screaming and cursing the day you believed this to be a great idea. Listen to the tracks on display on their self-titled debut album and find out that you're now in the hands of three nutty U.K. rockers. It's stoner-rock lite' or if you prefer, compositions and arrangements influenced and inspired by the Prince Of Fookin' Darkness aka Ozzy Osbourne's Black Sabbath, Monster Magnet, Motörhead, and possible even the likes of Cathedral, Kyuss, and Hawkwind, no?

Doom 'N Gloom, yeah? surely!!! yet not quite as 'true to their art' as the above mentioned artists. Among these 11 tracks you'll also discover the odd melody in the vein of The Almighty or Nashville Pussy. Pretty basic and heavy groove-laden rock/metal which we've heard a lot in the past to be honest. Nevertheless, the musicianship and production hits ya' right between the eyes. What pours out of the loud-speakers is akin to listening to a accident involving a concrete-mixer and you're neighbours constantly howling dog(gy). It's noisy, groovy, at times even interesting/entertaining. Check out soundclips at below links if you're into this particular genre of metal/rock.

www.grifterrock.co.uk/

www.myspace.com/grifterrock/