Devil Riding Shotgun

DEVIL RIDING SHOTGUN

Signs of the End Devil Riding Shotgun (independent) 2007

1. "Silence" (4:10)
2. "Love to Hate You" (2:40)
3. "Here We Go" (6:29)
4. "Just Thinking" (3:30)
5. "She" (3:11)
6. "Dream" (3:12)
7. "Walk" (2:50)
8. "Why" (4:48)

I was playing a show at a new club in Albuquerque with Ultimatum in July 2007. The opening band (Devil Riding Shotgun) was great, old school dooooom metal similar to Place of Skulls, The Obsessed and Pentagram. Their sound was dirty, nasty and heavy. Lots of distortion on the bass and a ton of groove. Of course the guitarist used a Gibson SG. What else would you expect? Unfortunately there were not very many people there to see this band, but regardless, I was impressed enough to pick up their CD. Their CD is well produced, and may even be too clean for this band. They had lots of feedback and reverb live that is missing from the recording. I would imagine capturing this band's sound is quite difficult in a studio. However, that's not to say that this CD isn't good. In fact, I've listened to it several times over since picking it up at that show and quit enjoy it. The band write slow to mid-paced grooves. With the cleaner production, their studio sound falls somewhere between doom and stoner rock. The CD itself is professionally pressed but are encased in one of those slimline cases with only a single page insert for a cover. While their CD sounds very professional, the overall look of the disc is that of a demo. Regardless, the music contained is quite good and should appeal to fans of doom and stoner rock. "She" is not a Kiss cover, although that would have been cool to hear. Check 'em out: http://www.myspace.com/devilridingshotgun - www.nolifetilmetal.com

Thursday, March 13, 2008

In a town of supposed Rock Music Lovers, I was surprised at the turn-out. None the less, everyone in attendance was rewarded with one helluva night of music.

The big event this evening was the debut of Jon Knutson as Devil Riding Shotgun’s new drummer and the unveiling of an entirely new set. Yes. I said an entirely new set. Now it has long been the opinion of my colleagues and myself that Devil Riding Shotgun is and has been one of the most underrated bands in this town. Which in itself is a crime. The chemistry, compositions and presence that Alan and Neb (and the original John the drummer) share has been grossly overlooked by music fans in this town. Their new set has taken the familiar DRS "Heavy-Prog-Semi-Doom-Metallic-Dynamic-Rock" sound and have brought it to the next level. And despite the imagined enormous task of filling John’s shoes and finding a groove with Alan and Neb, Jon has not only succeeded in doing that, but has obviously aided in DRS’s continued rise in quality composition and performance. These cats obviously work hard at crafting tunes and the Prog sensibilities that I have always heard in past gigs on their album, are stronger than ever. And I mean that in the most positive way possible. The music is well orchestrated, dynamic and Rocks the fuck out. All three of these cats are impressive masters of their instruments and are able to project their skill without making the listener feel like a group of music teachers are going through the motions of being in a band. Instead you get intense, complicated tunes without any hint of uptight music geek in their delivery. Always natural and dynamic, and always Rocking. Last night’s performance once again proved and solidified that.

I’ll say it again; Devil Riding Shotgun is one of the most underrated bands in town. And it’s high time for that to change. - unknown

Devil Riding Shotgun - s/t - 70%
Written by ravenhearted on September 27th, 2007 

The name DEVIL RIDING SHOTGUN, and the fact that this Stoner trio hails from Albuquerque, New Mexico, made me expect this to be sweaty, grooving desert rock in the veins of KYUSS. With only a demo released beforehand, and no blood-sucking record labels attached, this Stoner band's debut album is a self-financed release, cleverly cutting out the middle man through online distribution.

"Devil Riding Shotgun" opens with a track ironically titled "Silence". The room-temperature seems to rise as the HIGH ON FIRE-esque song kicks into its first riffs, and after a few minutes I'm reassured that my assumptions weren't far off the mark. These guys know their Stoner Rock, as made evident by the heavy bass and cool-as-ice vocals (Wino comes to mind). After another exercise in tasty riffing, called "Love To Hate You", the album takes an unexpected turn and shows a different side of itself. "Here We Go" sounds like it could have been recorded by ALICE IN CHAINS in their prime, and definitely draws influence from various Seattle bands. This is by no means a bad thing, though, as "Here We Go" is one of the best tracks on the album.

Another Grunge-y song follows, and then the band relight their joints and turns their amps back up to 11. The rest of the album is pure Doom-goodness, and you can even hear some SAINT VITUS shimmering through at times, only with less gloom and more energy. The band rages on, and when they reach the final track, "Why", the music climaxes into a great Stoner anthem, which could just as well have come from the aforementioned HIGH ON FIRE.

Even though DEVIL RIDING SHOTGUN have managed to come up with some bitchin' tunes, there is obviously still room for improvement. They pay tribute to a genre that has a bad habit of stagnation, and this album simply isn't bringing anything new to the table. With that being said, it's a good first effort and well worth your hard-earned cash if you like any of the bands I've referenced above, or if you're simply a fan of catchy tunes.

(Online September 23, 2007)

Written for The Metal Observer

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