PICTURE ME BROKEN

 

I will never understand where some talent hails from but I think Picture Me Broken is a prime example of pure talent.

Fronted by Layla Brooklyn Allman(Brooklyn Allman), the daughter of the legendary Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers; Picture Me broken stands, as of now, more of an up and coming band. Having already signed to one label and been dropped and then signed to another, many would say they are no longer an Indie band but I still want to put them on here due to their sheer musical brilliance and the fact that I hate to see so much talent go to waste.

That being said, the band is a female fronted hard rock band, their music a far cry from her Brooklyns father's "Ramblin' Man." They started out calling themselves "pop-core" but later music revealed more of an alternative metal, post hardcore sound. Having been playing music together since they were 12 years old, and are now nearly into there twenties now, they mix a unique blend of heavy guitar riffs with Brooklyn's poppy voice and some guttural screams thrown in with a few synth notes. I myself am not a fan of synth in music, but as long as these guys(and girl) don't fall into the synthesizer pop realm that bands like Icon For Hire went towards, Picture Me Broken will still be able to hold interest in the rock and metal world.

Brooklyn Allman, a gorgeous blonde in her own right, has already been voted as "the hottest chick in metal" 2012.  She standing along metal females like Laura Nichols of late great Light This City and Alexia Rodriguez of Eyes Set To Kill. Unfortunately, her looks are really her best quality. While she definitely has a set of pipes on her, her voice isn't as polished as Alexa's, her scream isn't as gut wrenching as Laura's.  Heck she doesn't even have the intensity of Lizzie Hail of Hailstorm as it seems to falter when she does try to intensify it too much. I can't completely fault her too much for her voice, it works for the band for the most part, but doesn't have the beauty of aforementioned  Alexia or even Lizzie for that matter. I guess the best way to describe it is, well, typical; sounding a lot like many unschooled singers out there. Its fairly one sided, a few more simple changes of pitch would be great. Right now it sounds like shes talking more than singing, coming off a little Buckcherry-esque just not as raspy if you will and certainly not as manly. I hate to say it but her scream, while definitely used mainly to emphasize the music, could very well be her best attribute as a vocalist even though later music shows her dropping it out of the bands sound. She tends to dabble in dark, distraught lyrics that seem too adult for a woman her age. Check out the song "Torture" or "Dearest(I'm So Sorry)" for a prime example.

Me being a guitarist myself, I always love to hear a good guitar sound out of bands and Picture Me Broken has that. There are very few simple riffs to be found out of these guys and they're always rocking but I wish I could hear some distinct solos out of them. I know they have it in them because they're already putting together near incredible riffs with solos that fit more as bridges. In the mainstream world, that is typical for the alt. metal/hard rock scene of today but to really stand on their own, they need to do something to set themselves aside from the rest. For the music, a little shredding could go a long way. How hard is it to really allow yourself strut your stuff on the strings? 20 years ago, there wasn't a metal or hard rock song to be found without a solo. Poison, Def Leppard; even AC/DC, Guns n Roses and Led Zeppelin sported the solo, but today its merely an after thought making mainstream music just plain bland. For Picture Me Broken, they're already breaking the mold with a female singer whose willing to scream, why not break through it a little more letting their fingers do some talking? It's just a thought.

In 2010, Picture Me Broken released a full length effort at the ripe old age of 16 and are in the midst of releasing another called Corrupt Me in 2014. In between they put out the EP's Dearest(I'm So Sorry) and Mannequins. In 2011 and 2013 they went quite quiet, having fallen prey to the curse of many hard rock bands today, the loss of members. As of now, the only original member is Brooklyn,  having even lost her right hand man Austin Dunn on bass in 2013. Wikipedia actually shows them drummer-less right now.  I highly recommend checking out songs like, "Dearest (I'm So Sorry)" with its intense and heavy riff work and catchy chorus, "Live is Evil Spelled Backwards" for its incredible guitar work in the intro and Brooklyn's decent vocal work. “Torture” has some pretty awesome lyrics but basically cements them in the mainstream rock world as it cuts the screams, and "If I Never Wake Again" is simply as beautiful ballad even though it sounds like Allman is having a hard time letting her voice relax enough to pull it off.

Get a glimpse at Brooklyn Layla Allman by reading this 2012 interview at: http://rockrevoltmagazine.com/interview-with-brooklyn-allman/

Check out their music at:
http://www.indiecharts.com/Profile.php?butname=899524124
http://www.ourstage.com/profile/picturemebroken/songs
And the videos for "Mannequins"
"Torture"
and "Dearest(Im So Sorry)" on Youtube.

Park Lane

 Lets take a little bit of a turn with this next Band. On the Park Lane page of the indie metal charts, there is a comment saying "how are you not signed?"  I am inclined to ask the same thing.

Park Lane is an alternative metal/hard rock band from San Jose, CA, with a vocalist hailing from Brooklyn NY. that were brought together by sheer coincidences that singer Carley Coma was free from his old band Candiria and was looking to explore something different. Instead of tearing us apart with heavy guitar riffs, killer double kick drums, and gut wrenching growled vocals, they take a lighter approach; opting for strong, catchy melodies and clean vocals; much in the way of  TRUST company.  They were able to release one album, Letters From a Fire, independently in 2011. An album that I was lucky enough to be able to obtain.

Letters From a Fire is definitely an enjoyable piece of work. Even though most of the songs fallow the same old tired verse, chorus, verse, bridge guidelines that we all have heard thousands of times before, it is still a decent first effort. TRUST company show its face almost everywhere in the songs. Hell, songs like Love Again and Silence start off sounding so much like them that you actually expect Kevin Palmer to make an appearance. The one thing they do differently than TRUSTco is the use of guitar solos; Intricate and melodic pieces of work that help make the songs a little less monotonous. Without them, I'm afraid by the end of the CD you would have thought you heard the same song on repeat.

That being said, they do have some crowning moments. Nearly every song on the cd is enjoyable, never quite boring in of themselves. The opener, "The Edge," is an epic, extremely catchy, performance that sends tingles down your spine with its harmonized guitar/vocal work; strong, sensitive, well written, relatable lyrics; and catchy chorus'. "The Fallen," another catchy tune, will give you chills with its lyrics alone until you realize that the instrumental parts are just perfect for song.  Incredible, rhythmic drum work; strong guitar work; melodic, catchy vocals make it an altogether great listen. All in all, a great independent effort with well derived tunes that deserves more recognition than its getting.

There's a decent album review at:
http://rockaccess.net/2011/09/19/album-stream-park-lane-letters-from-the-fire/

And of course, check out there songs at:
http://www.indiecharts.com
http://www.reverbnation.com

Jameson

Man what a guitar sound these guys have. Jameson, a thrash/metal/metalcore outfit from Los Angeles, CA, are out there pummeling people to death with an incredibly talented guitarist, an equally impressive drummer, and all the cookie monster growls you can ask for.  For the most part these guys knock you into submission, only letting up for the guitarist to kick out driving, blistering solo. One can't mistake the Unearth and In Flames or Lamb of God likeness but at the same time Jameson is there own piece of that pie. Think of them as a birth child of those bands, taking all the parts that make them great and mashing them together. The breakdowns of Unearth, the riffs of In Flames, and the vocals of Lamb of God and so on. Each song starts off with an aggressive intro that blends beautifully(dare I say that word) with the main groove. They also seem to have a sense of humor about them. With song titles like "Rocktimus Prime," and "Greetings from Lord Humongous" to name a few. Hell they even did a pretty masterful rendition of Micheal Jacksons "Beat It." A song that, against all odds, is awesome to put it simply. The song will change your mood, almost makes you feel angry, but you can't help but turn it up loud and jam away until your ears bleed.  Come to think of it, maybe that's why your angry in the first place. They have produced one independently released full length album in 2008 that I found is available to buy on Amazon U.K. and Canada but not the U.S version. A decent review was written about it on http://www.metal-archives.com that helps describe the band to a tee. Check these guys out but make sure your death bed is ready for when they knock you down and kick your teeth in, not letting up until they feel good and ready. I'm not kidding, these guys kick and pummel you from opening note to closing beat.

 http://www.jamesontheband.com/
https://myspace.com/jamesontheband
indiecharts.com/jameson
http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Jameson/Down_for_the_Count/198821

Last Regret

Last Regret is a band from Boston, brought together by each members love for music. They utilize heavy; chugging guitars, thrashing drum beats, and clean vocals with a scream thrown in periodically to make a metal/hard rock band of unique style. In fact the only band I've heard that I can honestly say sounds most like them is Once Pure(who are they right) except Last Regret has a better all around vocalist in my opinion. That being said, both bands fallow the same chugging; chopping; yet groove ridden guitar riffs with heavy, double bass drumming and an intricate mixture of clean/screamed vocals. Every song by Last Regret has something to keep you on your feet. You never know if they're going to scream your ears off or sooth you with soft clean vocals. Really it doesn't actually matter, these guys are heavy to the vein with metal and hard rock built into their bones. Listen the the angst ridden lyrics and pure intensity of "Lets Do This" than flip down and listen to the more melodic, dare I say softer, "Invincible." Both songs well crafted with chugging guitar work and heavy drum work, "Invincible" even throws in a short jam session complete with a fairly mediocre guitar solo. A solo that sounds very metal but makes little sense with the rest of the song. It is still nice to hear even though it is obviously not their strong suit. I give them credit for trying.  "T.G.I.F" and "Fallen" are two of the best songs Ive heard by them. Both very heavy yet very melodic with decent vocal work but incredible instrumental work. Again they are still unsigned but have released an EP called “Unicorn Park EP” that you can listen to or pick up on there website listed below.

http://www.lastregret.com/
http://www.indiecharts.com
https://myspace.com/officiallastregret

Black Metal Box

For my first post i'm going to introduce a metal/metalcore band from Phoenix, Arizona called Black Metal Box. They have one self-titled album released in 2009 on Minds Eye Studio.  With heavy guitar riffs, dark undertones, and a gut wrenching scream this band can get anyone on there feet, headbanging. There riffs are crisp and heavy, there bass lines are strong, and the drum work is top notch. While they tend to focus toward mid-tempo guitar they bring it together with strong solos. The drummers double-kick work is superb making even the mid-tempo seem heavier than it actually is. As for the vocals, they mix their screams and growls with clean vocals almost seamlessly but the lyrics can be mediocre at best. Songs like "Sorry To Tell You" and "Consumed" are a good example of their scream/clean vocal mesh while "Fallen" and "Nobody Knows" focus more on clean vocal, easily showing how versatile they are. Each and every song hits you hard, knocks you back, kicks you while your down.

Currently unsigned. Let's get them out there.

Songs I recommend(links from ourstage.com and indiecharts.com):
Nobody Knows
Fallen
Sorry To Tell You

Check them out at::
 http://www.reverbnation.com/blackmetalbox
http://www.indiecharts.com/blackmetalbox
http://www.ourstage.com/profile/blackmetalbox
https://myspace.com/blackmetalbox

WELCOME TO THE ROADHOUSE

Welcome everyone to the Indie Roadhouse. A place where you can sit back and check out some of the sickest indie metal bands on the scene and a sister blog to the up and coming Indie Stream Radio.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Mark. I am, as you may call it, a metal head. I always had a love and passion for music.  When my friend Ty told me he was starting an Indie radio website geared toward getting indie bands the exposure they need, I instantly wanted to help in any way I can. I hate seeing good bands out there that never seem to find a foot in the door, never get going, playing small venue after small venue in hopes that someone will notice them. If I can help get them exposure, I'm all in. So Ty gave me a blog. A blog where I can introduce the world to all the gut wrenching, adrenaline filled, indie metal bands circling the globe and maybe get them another step toward the recognition they deserve. Not only will I be introducing the bands but I will also write an honest review, telling the ups and downs of every band on here.

So come in off the road, sit down, grab yourselves drink, and jam out in the Indie Roadhouse.