What’s missing from many of the 70s hard rock revivalist bands is showmanship. Rival Sons makes up for this in spades. Jay Buchanan storms onto the stage like he’s about to have a heart attack, wailing and flailing in front of a giant wall-length poster of the band’s logo. His efforts pay off, pulling the audience so far into the fabric of the music that they can’t stop themselves from continuing to sing the chorus well after the song has ended.
For anyone catching the Rival Sons European tour for the first time, don’t let the amount of black clothing and face piercings in the crowd give you the wrong idea. While their stomping sound accrues a dedicated heavy metal following, the music is as melodic and complex as it is loud. The ballads they brought forth in the encore may not have garnered as many “woohoos” as the earlier tunes, but the band pulls off melancholy soft sounds just as well as it does it’s screamers. Comparisons can be made to The Black Crows, Wolfmother, Black Sabbath... but it’s best to experience the California quartet for yourself before being able to understand them. The live show rises well above their recorded material, which is well worth a listen, even if it fails to truly capture all the band has to offer.
Rival Sons is in the midst of a packed tour of Europe, hitting several of the spring rock festivals, before heading back to North America. <a href=“http://www.rivalsons.com/tour/” target=“_blank”>www.rivalsons.com/tour/</a>
London, England