(4 / 5)
There’s a lot of music out there masquerading as something that it is not…
Such as the myriad of bands and artists releasing long players billed as blues and blues-rock, when in fact they are as far from blues as Susan Boyle is; usually 100% rock – with the guitarists’ musical references based on 1970s British rock players and no nod at all to the US blues originators.
So. To Bristol five-piece band Sons Of Liberty…A refreshing case of it is what it says on the tin. Labelled Southern Rock in the press blub sent with the album. Trust me; these boys can rock and they deliver 11 ballsy tracks here, with no blurring of the genres.
Shed loads of power and energy without snuffing out melody and harmonies. This is a class act and a quality rock album. They do not try to sound American either by the singer using an annoying fake accent. Singer Russ Grimmett, the band’s new boy, is bang on it from the off and does a pretty fine job.
11 tracks, produced/mixed by Josiah J Manning [Kris Barras Band] and the first album to feature their new frontman Mr Grimmett. Sons Of Liberty are: lead vocals Russ, Fred Hale and Andy Muse guitars, Mark Thomas bass and Steve Byrne drums. It sounds like Russ has settled in fast as the chemistry between him and the rest of the band is palpable.
Their debut album, “Animism” was released in 2020 and the follow-up long player, “Aces & Eights” dropped in 2021. The band have performed with Preacher Stone, FM, Grand Slam and Molly Hatchet. Sons Of Liberty will play 10 shows in March 2024, including a support slot to Reef, and support on the Sons of Liberty headline tour will be The Mike Ross Band.
There has been two singles released so far from this album: “Time To Fly”, the opening track of the album and “Turn This Tide”. The video for “Turn This Tide” was directed by Kris Barras, and shot in a disused quarry.
My bet is this band will do very well on the International rock circuit in the next few years, and they sound like a ready-made main stage festival act for sure. I am sure national rock radio here and overseas will be spinning this stuff well into the new year.
If the stations play AC/DC, Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi and the like, then Sons of Liberty is a snug fit with their credible and commercial sound.
Words: Christopher Weston
(1 / 5) ‘Dull Zone’
(2 / 5) ‘OK Zone’
(3 / 5) ‘Decent Zone’ (4 / 5) ‘Super Zone’
(5 / 5) ‘Awesome Zone’
