Hot Ham & Cheese

Cleveland's favorite hard rock band is back, with an EP that's sure to slap your nuts off the backside of your face.

Wake Part One opens with the ferocious "Mary," and never lets up. Charlie bellows with utmost control on vocals, and he shreds on guitar, driving this force like a freight train through your nanna's living room at Christmas.

Then "Pinnacle of Cynical" kicks in, and you get a richer taste of Louie Styx's funky-ass bass, with a range that feels as boundless as it is body-moving. He switches pace in "Gray," and continues to thwomp his way into strange realms through the rest of the album.

And this is all saying nothing about Robbie Mitchell's drums, thrashing in time to make you want to bust up everything in sight. The solid backbone of Hot Ham & Cheese, Mitchell's pace seems to snap on a whim, guiding the songs like a true master into whatever angle he desires.

But beyond the adrenaline-sparking grooves, Wake Part One is filled with deep, insightful lyrics for those willing to listen to what they have to say. "Pinnacle of Cynical" mocks popular culture, growling, "reality is not tv/it's such a joke." And whoever "Katie in Blood" is about, she sounds like one filthy minx.

This is the music that you imagine when you see badass Harley's tearing through your neighborhood. Once again, Hot Ham & Cheese has done Cleveland proud, with one of the year's best hard rock albums. Even sweeter is the fact that this is just the first of two EP's HHC is releasing in the near future, so stay tuned for more!

NOTE: While you can download the EP via Amazon and iTunes, you can also get the cd directly through the band (either by going to a show, or reaching out to them online). The cd includes two extra tracks, a live cut and "Doing Drugs in the Closet" which takes the sound into a very strange world that includes organs and no vocals...which is generally what I end up hearing every time I freebase in the closet here at work. - Kotori Magazine

"Local alt-rock trio Hot Ham & Cheese offer a self-described “strange mixture” of many different musical styles; their kitchen sink philosophy on creative songwriting recalls everything from punk and the apocalyptic dirge of Black Sabbath, Melvins and Soundgarden, to avant rockers Primus/Sausage, swirling post-psychedelia and even a pinch of 311 for good measure. Edgy, but never sloppy, the group seems to dig that rebellious, lo-fi sound." - Cool Cleveland

"Cleveland power trio Hot Ham & Cheese moves between punk, metal, and hard rock like it's throwing a triple combo to your ribs, kidney, and head. Revolution & Revelations isn't exactly a knockout blow, but it packs some punch. Singer-guitarist Charlie gets political on "New Bomb/Vietnam," singing, "Said it wouldn't be Vietnam/Just gonna get Saddam." You can practically hear his spit fly. The band faces more danger at home, navigating a minefield of pills, loose women, and assorted homicidal maniacs. Bassist Louie Styx and drummer Robby Mitchell play rugged and rough, captured in the act by Track Six studio engineer Brandon Youngs and producer Don Debiase, who (again) provide some of the city's most reliably crisp-and-crunchy sounds. Another couple of albums like this, and they'll all be heavyweights" - Scene Magazine

"Hot Ham & Cheese – Revolution & Revelations (Jib Machine) The kitchen sink approach to song writing has treated the Cleveland trio well, mixing elements of Tool, Clutch and Black Sabbath into its own brand of hard rock. Revolution & Revelations, the band's full-length debut, had enough staying power and quirky metal goodness to last the whole year - Saw Kick Media