Sons of Rachel are a real rock and roll band, the way it was meant to be… Loud, hard, and rockin’. Sons of Rachel rolls with the One True God, Jesus Christ, and makes no apologies for it. Hard rock roots injected with punk influences. The Sons of Rachel were formed in late 2010 in the Metro Detroit area. SOR has a vision to glorify Jesus Christ in all that they do, including playing and performing high octane rock and roll. SOR is a unique blend of punk rock and 80s metal. The Sons are a group of diverse musicians with vastly different backgrounds, yet together, they bring the ROCK! They recently had the privilege to open for Stryper.
Some bands just evoke a sense of enjoyment from the first track. Sons of Rachel do that straight out of the gate with their ROLL THE DICE EP. “Roll The Dice” is a great song to have batting first. It sets the pace and expectation nicely giving a clear and solid guide to what you can expect to hear throughout. Its good ole’ rock n roll with Ramones /Alarm style punk influence.
“Kick in the Walls” is a fun get the party started kind of song with a great sing-a-along chorus and ample punk gusto, yet maintaining a hard rock rooted origin. Think of Motley Crue playing Ramones songs. “Kick in the Walls” is just that. There is even a salute to the Ramones towards the end of the song, “Hey, Ho” – repeated a couple of times for good effect.
“Achan’s Sin” seems like it has come out the paddock of Motley Crue, or one of those types of rock n roll bands. In all the songs a certain punk influence in their delivery is evident, whether that’s because of the snotty or gritty vocal delivery of Mark Main, or the driving bass lines of Ray Boyd, I am not too sure. Phill Antonucci keeps the energy of punk in his guitar style whilst keeping the songs rooted in rock n roll. The blues tinge helps make this a real great rock n roller song to enjoy, maybe a little cliché’ blues metal rock, in terms of the riff, but none the less a rock n roll ding banger that just needs a bandanna, leather jacket, and a Harley Davidson to finish the package off.
“Flipside” swings things down with a wailing guitar solo as a intro. Musically the intro with its solo guitar carrying most of the weight reminded me of something between Guns n Roses and Aerosmith. It’s a true ballad in every sense with swaying lit cigarette lighters, but with a great message and lots of solid lead guitar work. Though vocally there is no similarly to either Aerosmith or Guns n Roses, musically there are multiple tags of evidence that point that these guys are musically influenced by these bands, even to a point that one gets a feeling that perhaps these guys listened to Aerosmith, Guns n Roses and Ramones growing up.
“11 Years Ago” hits the pedal to the floor musically solid like a top card hard rock band should. Solid drumming by Jack Neller keeps things driving forward strong and sure, the guitars drive purposefully, solid bass line pout the song as a sure rocker. Again something about Mark Mains vocal delivery gives the songs that snotty punk attitude, and works well with the music. Overall nicely wrapped package of rock n roll with punk attitude.
“Read between the Thieves” slows down things just a bit in a Alarm style sort of vibe. There is a lot of old school rock culture inherit in most of the songs, even bands like Aerosmith comes to mind as a possible influence. The no nonsense lyrics also give a clear sense of where their faith comes from. There is no doubt that this is a Christian band, not just a bunch of Christians in a band.
In conclusion if you looking for some solid rock n roll that draws its influences from the 80’s that is injected with punk attitude then this a ride you want to get. The production is not sophisticated and keeps the sound raw without making it sound backyard. Overall it delivers a tale of things to come. Its an EP of rock n roll outbreak that is steeped in punk attitude. It’s a rock n roll album, so expect some Rock n Roll!!! For these guys it’s a great introduction release of things to come and I look forward to hearing more of these good old fashioned rock n rollers whom are brining it home to a new generation of younger rockers.
Personal favourites are – “11 Years Ago”, Kick in the Walls”, “Roll the Dice”.
For fans of: Guns n Roses, The Alarm, Motley Crue, The Ramones, Aerosmith and Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, possibly even The Stooges, bandannas, 80’s glam, leather jackets and Harley Davidsons .
Rating: 7.5/10
Written by Donovan de Necker
Tracklist:
1 Roll The Dice
2 Kick in the Walls
3 Achan’s Sin
4 Flipside
5 11 Years Ago
6 Read Between the Thieves
Band members:
Phill Antonucci – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Ray Boyd – Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
Mark Main – Guitar, Lead Vocals
Jack Neller – Drums, Backing Vocals
Record Label: Independent, Dec. 2013
Weblinks: Website / Facebook / Bandcamp / Reverbnation
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
USA: Metal Helm
Video below ‘Roll the Dice
Video below ‘Kick In the Walls’ (Live Opening for Stryper)