The Bleeding Lights

August 18 2013 – Ever since our Emerging Artist Spotlight article back in May, TMAK World has been following the rise of this hard working, hard charging Toronto rock band, The Bleeding Lights. The culmination of their hard work has come in the form of their debut CD - From Here To The Truth which had it’s CD release party at The Horseshoe Tavern on August 10 2013. The seriousness with which frontman Owen Kelly took the mic on the opening track, It’s All On You, echoes the conviction and direction with which this band treats their craft. The soaring guitar riffs from Brian Paul are punctuated by the solid classic rock vocals of Kelly in a style reminiscent of The Tea Party’s Jeff Martin. The radio friendly Skin and Bones is bound to hit the airwaves as purist alike will gravitate to this classic rock throwback. Rounding out this quartet is drummer, Glenn Neath and bass guitar Nic Vurro.

The third and sixth tracks, Tremor and Candles slow things down with a comfortable ease as they transitions into power ballad territory with Kelly in full command of his instrument. The dreamy mystical openings belies the hard rock to come. The 80's Brit rock inspired stylings on What If shows just how versatility The Bleeding Lights truly are. And versatility is the new paradigm in today’s music industry if you want to succeed. The throngs of fans attending this CD release just didn’t happen by chance. Social media has become an increasingly larger piece of any bands business model. From iTunes to Sound Cloud, Facebook to Youtube, each online presence provides one more opportunity for The Lights to connect to their core audience. And the buzz at the Horseshoe had them connecting in spades.

To close out the set The Bleeding Lights offered up classic 70's easy listening sounds on Like That taking fans in a wondrous new direction as Kelly’s powerful vocals were tempered by ethereal and haunting keyboard sounds of Mark Kelson and Brian Paul.

Verdict: From the moment they took the stage, The Bleeding Lights were all business and it showed. This indie rock quartet connected and captured the sounds and energy of a band with a message. From classic rock to power ballads, Brit sounds to 70's musings, The Bleeding Lights no holds barred stage presence did it all. - TMAK World

The Bleeding Lights are a hard-rock band from Toronto, Ontario who formed in 2011. The Lights consist of Owen Kelly on vocals, Brian Paul on guitars, Nic Vurro on bass and Glenn Neath on drums. Brian, Glenn and Nic are all former members of the band The Tenth Planet, which had some of their work produced by Jeff Martin from The Tea Party.
In July 2011 the band went into The Pocket Studios with producer Mike Turner (Crash Karma and former Our Lady Peace member) to record their first album. Production for the album was also done at Kelsonic Studios in Australia with Mark Kelson. The album was then mastered by Pete Letros at Wreckhouse Mastering in Toronto and mixed by Mark Makoway, the guitarist for Moist.

On April 24, 2013 the band released their first album, From Here to the Truth; a loud and energetic album that brings a modern edge to heavy rock.

The first track “It’s All On You” kicks the doors open with loud-distorted guitars, instantly giving the listener a preview of the underlying hard-rock core of the album. During the verse the tempo slows, illuminating the tight sound of the drums and bass, while the guitar continues to riff melodies, mimicking the range of Kelly’s vocals. The transition from the verse to chorus is explosive, and the overall atmosphere of the first track is compelling.

The next few songs, “Skin and Bones”, “Tremor”, “What If”, “Collide” and “Just War” are solid tracks that do a sufficient job taking the album to its rhythmic core. “Tremor” and “What If” are a great example of the bands versatility of performing slow, downtrodden ballads and then launching back into their loud and aggressive sound. Some of the lyrics felt redundant, with the majority of songs touching on love, relationships and self –reflection (staple subjects for many great rock albums), but Kelly’s diverse and powerful vocal range kept me interested, regardless of some of the mundane lyrics.

There were two songs on the album that stood out the most to me as anomalies. “Candles” was an enjoyable listen, but I felt like the melodies had already been heard on other tracks. In essence, it felt redundant and it disrupted the pace of the album for me. “Breda” was also an anomaly, although not a bad song, it just didn’t seem to fit the entire vibe of the album. The song opens acoustically, and explored instrumental melodies, something unique from the rest of album. It’s not that “Breda”, or even “Candles” are bad songs, they just felt out of place on a work that centers itself on a hard-rock sound.

The last few songs on the album “From Here To The Truth”, “For All That I Know” and “Like That” are all unique in their own ways. However, “Like That” seemed a bit of an odd choice for an ending. Unlike “From Here To the Truth” and “For All That I Know”, “Like That” is quieter ballad with a nice melodic acoustic opening, and although the band does a good job of combining their instrumental talents with Kelly’s vocals, I felt like the album would have ended stronger if the band had chosen one of their heavier songs, which, in my opinion, are a better representation of the bands overall musical abilities.

Ultimately, From Here to the Truth is a good debut album. However, I felt the album lacked some originality in terms of its sounds and it would have been nicer to hear a more diverse range of layering and melodies. And although there are some tracks that didn’t seem to fit with the core of the album, the band has a wide range of musical capabilities, which makes for an interesting and engaging listen. Finally, the band is in its early stages and clearly The Bleeding Lights has a lot of potential and is a band to keep on your radar. - The Scene Magazine

I am a huge fan of Canadian music, and have been for a long time. They always have their own touch, musically, and the quality is usually very high. The Bleeding Lights, consisting of Owen Kelly (vocals) Brian Paul (guitars),Glenn Neath (drums), and Nic Vurro (bass) is no exception - this is a new and exciting band. Well, they're not totally brand new, as three of the members were in Tenth Planet, who released three strong albums. Stylistically, there are clear similarities between the two bands, but TBL is slightly harder and more straightforward in their sound.

On their debut, the band once again worked with Mike Turner (Our Lady Peace, Crash Karma), which of course has given them excellent production. I must say it sounds very good and their Filter and Tool influenced rock is very tasteful, with both powerful and more emotional elements. On tracks like "Skin and Bones", "Collide" and "What If", this can be heard clearly, with the band also adding in some more progressive elements. Even the calmer tracks "Candles" and "Like That" are worth mentioning, as they show off a different side of the band, but with the same level of high quality. Overall this is a very competent record that you should check out if you like more emotional charged rock like A Perfect Circle, 10 Years and even Alice in Chains. Canada rules!
- Melodic.Net