Anesthesia

The fellas from Anesthesia have woken up pretty much every day for the past 13 years with the same goal in mind: To become the next motherfucking Metallica. And although there are literally thousands of 20- and 30-something rockers all across the country with the same aim in life, there ain’t a one of ‘em with half the balls – not to mention talent – of the four guys who make up Albuquerque’s nastiest-chuggin’, hardest-workin’ metal band.

Aaron, who doubles as band cigarette supplier, hails from the Windy City. Nates from Iowa, Jakes hails from Ohio, and Steve is an Albuquerque native. The band counts among its inspirations and influences including Metallica, Pantera and Alice In Chains. Their sound is borderline unsettling on the harder tracks, but they also know how to slow things down and show off their chops. They can play the intricate technical passages, they can sing and then they can turn around on a dime and smash your teeth down your throat.

Jake, Nate and Steve have been kicking pretenders’ asses since the late ‘90s, when they won three straight talent shows at Albuquerque’s West Mesa High School with “the other bassist.” Aaron joined the band in 2001, and it’s really been on and crackin’ ever since. In 2006, Anesthesia collaborated with John Wall on the band’s first album, “Unfuckwithable.” It’s a no-nonsense, raw, in-your-face metal album with a number of standout tracks. In 2009, the band’s second album to be self titled, “Anesthesia,” will be released early 2010 on Suburban Noize Records. While the boys have clearly lost none of their testosterone, the second album shows quantum leaps in orchestration, song writing, style and musicianship. This is a band that’s dedicated to its craft. These guys pride themselves on a strong work ethic that was born of (no bullshit) straight-up boredom. There was nothing better to do on Albuquerque’s West Side than learn to be a first-class metal band, so that’s exactly what these guys did.

Both albums are solid efforts, and Anesthesia looks forward to many more. But at the heart of the Anesthesia experience is the alcohol-fueled, family-feel rock-and-roll live show. They’ve shared the stage with Damage Plan featuring Dime Bag Darrel, Korn, Mudvayne and Static X, and the guys will tell you right to your face that they’ve only been outdone a handful of times in damned near a decade and a half. Anesthesia has done the festival thing with appearances at Ozzfest, Rockstar Meyham Festival and Family Values. They’ve blown the roof off Albuquerque’s Launchpad and Sunshine Theater more times than most Duke City metal fans can count.

In the immediate future, Anesthesia are going to get the hell out of dodge and tour. Then they want to tour some more. For an encore, they want to tour more. And don’t think for a second that they’re not capable. This is a band that’s stayed together through more fights, babies and divorces than the Rolling Fucking Stones.