Flat Blak-Down N' Dirty

Self-Release/Independent
2018

Flat Blak is a (blues-infused) hard rock/rock and roll band from Las Cruces, New Mexico. According to the band's Facebook page (link) the group is comprised of Travis Manning (guitar & vocals), Les Skaggs (bass), and Rob Allen (drums & vocals). The 13-track "Down N' Dirty" looks to be Flat Blak's first full-length album and it still hot to the touch(!), seeing as it was just released today!! It was suggested to me by a old high-school friend that just loves all things rock and hard & heavy (thank you dear). Speaking of things that lots of people just love, Flat Blak seems to be driven by the thought of beer, boobs, and BBQ! Or at least that is the posted biography of this heavy/power rock trio. As for my thoughts on "Down N' Dirty"? While I would be the first to admit that this kind of (blues-infused) rock isn't really my thing, Flat Blak and bands just like them are extremely fun to see live and in living color. I would be willing to bet some serious money that this promising band puts on one hell of a live show. With that being said, "Down N' Dirty" is surprising tame. Where is the passion and fire? Honestly the sound is spot on/right there, but this album makes it seem as if Flat Blak were kept in check. For a hard & heavy/blues rock band with "good times" written all over it, "Down N' Dirty" makes the case that here was a band that was hardly excited at all to be laying down music to tape. You could say that I'm being hard on this band because I'm not really into their style, but the truth is I appreciate good music no matter how it is presented. As someone who has seen everyone from Bonnie Rait & Elton John to Slayer and Morbid Angel live, music is meant to move you. I could easily see Flat Blak moving me up out of my seat. It's just too bad that I would have to be at one of their shows to see that happen. Here's to hoping that this band gets it right on round two. Either that or next time around just release a live album.

Regicide-Fall of an Empire

Self-Release/Independent
2015

Formed in 2006 in Las Cruces, Regicide is a traditional heavy metal/thrash metal band and the recently-released  "Fall of an Empire" is their debut album. The band is comprised of vocalist/guitarist Issac Trujillo, lead guitarist Dominic "Dimemond" Flores, bass guitarist Andrew "The Android" Silluron, and drummer Brandon "Brack" Gallegos and their influences range from the likes of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and Motörhead to bands like Testament, Anthrax, Metallica, Pantera, Megadeth, and Slayer. With a run-time of just over thirty minutes there is obviously not that much to this eight-track recording and in all honesty that's probably a good thing as New Mexico's Regicide has a long way to go before they can hope to compete with their elders. While the band's take on heavy/thrash metal isn't exactly bad it isn't great either. If anything it's just so-so and a lot of that has to do with the album's overall generic sound. There's nothing here we haven't heard a thousand times over and what is here is colorless and flavorless. As much as I would like to support these underground metalheads I find myself uninspired and unmoved by their debut album here. Hopefully that will change over time, but seeing as this band is already some nine years old it doesn't look promising in that department. This one is only for die-hard collectors who must have anything and everything thrash related.