Nightosaur
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Nightosaur

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | SELF

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | SELF
Band Metal Classic Rock

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"Nightosaur"

There’s something cartoonish about the local headbangers of Nightosaur, but that shouldn’t subtract from how thoroughly they kick ass. Shirtless and long-haired, the metal quartet bills itself as “dyno sludge/fossil rock.” That’s a stab at critics’ overzealous genre-tabbing, sure; it’s also a not-half-bad descriptor of Nightosaur’s music. With over-the-top medieval lyrics, indulgent soloing, and a brutal, chugging pace, the band oozes rock ’n’ spirit. Its latest release, this past summer’s Black Blood Of The Earth, features seven songs that clock in at about 50 minutes. Here, the band headlines what’s being called Metal Mustache night at the Nomad. - A.V. Club Twin Cities


"Picked to Click 2011 #7: Nightosaur"

In March of last year, MC/VL were finishing up a show at Memory Lanes when John Henry, one half of the hip-hop duo, was approached by Max Clark. The conversation, according to Henry, went like this:

"Max asked me, 'Do you wanna be in a band with me and Andy?' and I said, 'Is it a metal band?' and Max said, 'It is now!' So I stopped shaving and cutting my hair."

It's a great example of what makes Twin Cities heavy-metal rockers Nightosaur so good: They remember that rock 'n' roll is supposed to be fun. In the hype-driven web press world, where bloggers are racing to predict the next big thing, Nightosaur give you that old-fashioned belly-fire enthusiasm. They're a band built out of a shared love of dual guitar solos and songs that clock in at seven minutes, they love Ronnie James Dio and early Judas Priest, and they write songs with titles like "Valkyries Son," and "Sabre Fangg." They do this because they love it, and that's refreshing—downright exciting. The first line of Nightosaur's bio reads, "Out of the frozen wasteland of Minnesota, Nightosaur soars like a Pteranodon on the leathery wings of dual lead guitars," and they aren't really trying to be funny. At concerts, they have an onstage rule of "shirts or beards, never both," and they follow it.

After recruiting Henry on bass, Max Clark and Andrew Webber, who both play guitar, picked up Travis Franklin on drums and the band started writing songs. Their debut album, Black Blood of the Earth, is filled to the brim with ghost women, heroes and monsters, and sweeping, meticulous instrumentalism. It's the stuff of legend, with echoing choral chants and soaring guitar solos, every member singing lead at least once. The songs run the gauntlet from Beowulf-esque hero epics to "Thunder Wizard," a song, as Webber describes it, about "when people use up all the fossil fuels, the ghosts of dead dinosaur wizards come back and take over the world again." He finished writing the song's lyrics right before the Deep Water Horizon Gulf oil spill, which let Webber boast that the song was ripped straight from the headlines. But then, in Webber's words, "It became this weird dinosaur protest song, which wasn't really the intent, but I kinda like that about it. It's written from the point of view of the dinosaur wizard." So there you have it: a song written from the point of view of a dinosaur wizard. It just doesn't get much more rock 'n' roll than that. - City Pages


Discography

2011 - Black Blood of the Earth
self-released full length debut
available streaming at: http://nightosaur.bandcamp.com/

Photos

Bio

In the spring of 2010, the Andy Webber, John Henry, Travis Franklin and Max Clark gathered in a sweaty South Minneapolis basement to summon the spirits of rock and roll. Shredding their way from house shows to roller derbies, from Grand Rapids to San Antonio, they quickly made a name for themselves in the Twin Cities music community. Formed on a foundation of dual lead guitars and a rock solid rhythm section, Nightosaur has created a sound that's hard to put into words. Some attempted descriptions include: Thin Lizzy inside of a gravity bong, a Steven Spielberg film scored by Sleep, fossil rock, dino-sludge, and caveman metal. Classically informed guitars invoke the blues-rock of early Judas Priest and Black Sabbath, while the thunderous rhythm section summons the most modern of sludge. Nightosaur's influences reach to all corners of metal and classic rock and far beyond, its members coming from a wide range of musical backgrounds, having performed in hip-hop, psych, pop, punk, folk, and electronic groups. In just over a year, Nightosaur's DIY ethos has led them on two independent tours, from the Midwest to Texas, and they have earned a reputation for their tightly-tuned, high energy live show. Behold, a new era has begun.