Dead Behind The Scenes-White-EP

Self-Release/Independent
2015

Born in 2010 (and originally known as The Scream), Dead Behind The Scenes is a Italian five-piece that hails from Milan and just released it's debut EP, "White-EP", at the tail end of 2015. The band is comprised of Dave Bosetti (vox, guitars), Marco Tedeschi (guitars), Lorenzo Di Blasi (keyboards), Valerio Romano (bass), and Chris Lusetti (drums) and from what I've been able to gather these rather unique individuals all range in age from 18-19. In an impressive move for their young age the five members of Dead Behind The Scenes recorded & produced the quirky "White-EP" all by themselves! Later on it was mixed & mastered by Lorenzo Cassi & Alessio "EgoP" Cristiano with the end result being a five-song EP that defies easy classification. Of course when you take into account all of the different ingredients that have been thrown into the mix on this almost-whimsical EP (alternative rock, death rock/goth rock, hard rock, jazz, pop rock, post-punk/post-rock, reggae, etc.) it's not too difficult to understand the daunting nature of such a task! With that being said, "White-EP" gets plenty of points for it's creativity and overall delivery. Add to that it's well-structured narrative and you have a five-song recording that makes you want to hear what else this young Italian band is capable of. Hopefully that question will be answered sooner than later. 







As a side note it's quite obviously that a group like Dead Behind The Scenes will not be suited to everyone's tastes. But as for those who still seek out creativity in alternative rock? Well, you'd be hard pressed to find a band that has as much potential as this young band does! With time and a little nurturing this Italian act could get really interesting.... 

Good Guy Dies-"Restart" Single

Self-Release/Independent
2015

Based in London and comprised of  (absolutely amazing!!!!) lead vocalist Cherry Makej and guitarist extraordinaire Joe Hodgson, Good Guy Dies is a buzz-worthy indie project that has previously been covered here at Heavy Metal Time Machine. For those of you might not remember that special occasion (and it really was a special time seeing as it served as my first introduction to this up-and-coming/must-hear electronic rock duo!) then let's play catch-up before we drive on forward. Once upon a time I covered this band's (domestic abuse awareness) single, "Hit Me Back" and I thoroughly enjoyed not only the positive message of the track, but the way in which it mixed together the best parts of classic rock, electronica, and punk-pop! That thought-provoking single was a slam dunk moment for the pair of Cherry and Joe and it showed just how far you can get when you work hard and are dedicated to the to the task at hand! It was all at once enlightening and energetic and for Good Guy Dies a smash hit in the making like "Hit Me Back" should have been the perfect launching pad to finally get this (deserving) dynamite duo from point B to point A (with point B serving as the group's initial formation back in 2012 and point A representing wide-spread praise and admiration!). For whatever reason that didn't happen so the logical question is where do you go from here if you are Good Guy Dies? The answer seems simple enough. You head back to the studio and get hard at work on a proper follow-up. And that is where "Restart" comes into play. In some ways "Restart" is just like "Hit Me Back" in that it combines large amounts of classic rock and electronic rock with tiny flakes of punk-pop. It is also lyrically-deep and thought-provoking and just like it's 2014 precursor this image-rich single is dripping with passion. The raw emotion on display here is right in line with where "Hit Me Back" left off.  Even so these two singles are like night and day. Whereas "Hit Me Back" was powerful and got right in your face with a positive message this forthcoming single is much more angry and confrontational. For "Restart" lead vocalist Cherry Makej and guitarist Joe Hodgson added industrial rock elements to the studio mix as well as some slight instances that could be construed as alternative rock. While it still sounds like Good Guy Dies it is a bit more temperamental and it comes across as edgy. But then again so is the video for "Restart"! You can check that out below this article and you can find Good Guy Dies online here.With a scheduled release date of September 28th, "Restart" goes a long way towards showing the full-extent of this duo's talent and just how all-encompassing their music can be. They may have been absent for way too long (again, it was almost a full year in-between the sweet "Hit Me Back" and the equally awesome "Restart"!), but Good Guy Dies is back all the same. And I for one couldn't be happier!!!!

Kesä-Kesä

Svart Records
2015

Formed in the summer of 2014, Kesä (which translates to Summer) is a brand new Finnish rock project from a group of musicians with prior ties to such local hardcore and punk bands as Lighthouse Project, ILLS and Total Recall. Based in Helsinki, Kesä  is lead by vocalist/lyricist Toni Salminen with Eetu Blomqvist, Santeri Suominen, Antti-Ville Muurman and Kimmo Saastamoinen rounding out the fold. Despite the roots of it's band members, Finland's Kesä is more post-rock than punk rock with hardcore all but scrubbed out of the equation in favor of new wave, industrial/electronic rock and New Romanticism. On their soon to be released debut album (which you can be pre-order here) lead vocalist Toni Salminen and his companions embrace the look and feel of 1980 something punk/new wave while simultaneously throwing themselves head-first into the underground post-rock/post-punk sounds of tomorrow. It's a case of all or nothing/do or die for the members of Kesä and even if their eponymous debut is cold and bleak it's still capable of leaving a warm impression inside. Available on CD and LP, "Kesä" beats it's own drums proudly and without a hint of fear and for that I can't help but fully embrace it all the more!