Grim Skunk
Grim Skunk
Cargo Records
Blending the spirit of punk with the essence of the great rock albums of the ’70s, Grim Skunk has created a sound that could become legend. It is a unique blend of tunes, each song sounding so different from the one before that there is no hint of the monotony that plagues so many albums these days.
The first track on this album will be the song to break this band into the public consciousness. “Silverhead” is a bombastic mix of Acid Rock and heavy alternative riffs and rhythms that will make it in the clubs, fitting nicely alongside songs by Rage Against the Machine and other like bands. Powerful melodic rock ballads “Back in the Moors of Mars” and “Watchful Elms” bring to mind the golden age of heavy metal, when Ozzy was still with Sabbath, Kiss wore make-up, and the marketing gurus at the record labels hadn’t figured out that “power ballads” would increase their market share by getting more “chicks” into metal too. It’s an interesting album to listen to when you consider that a sound just like this one, only a couple of decades ago, would have garnered Grim Skunk a million-dollar record deal and instant fame. (God, am I that old?)
As much a part of Quebec’s alternative scene as Grim Skunk may be, this is definitely a mainstream rock album. This self-titled release will transcend the stigma of “alternative” and, with the right marketing, will find a good home on the rock radio stations of the country.