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Album Review

Artimus Pyledriver

Self-Titled (2006)

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Artimus Pyledriver is a kick-ass new sound that serves up some good old fashion Heavy Metal guitar riffs combined with lyrics about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Frontman Dave Slocum and guitarist Jimmy Hall formed the band in 2001 and bass player Mike Faulkner joined soon afterwards. In 2002 the band met their second guitarist Damon Goldsmith. A year afterwards, the band was completed with the addition of drummer Travis Owen. This five-piece band rocks out with a hardcore southern rock sound, better known as “Southern Stomp-ass.” They are heavily influenced by some of the greats of all time: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Sabbath, and The James Gang. Mix those styles and add some new twists and you come up with a winning combination.

The first track on the CD is “Swamp Devil.” This song symbolizes what every man or woman truly believes in; partying and having a good time in their sweet-ass rides. The instrumental in this song puts you into a sort of a trance. It’s very basic yet it sticks in the brain and you can’t help but sing the tune to yourself. The drummer Travis Owen keeps stellar time and a good beat while the guitar keeps it simple enough for Travis to feel free enough to change it up a bit when playing the song live. The solo later on into the song is simply put, an orgasm to the ears. While staying in perfect scale the guitarist plays an unbelievable face-melter that will make you want to stick around to listen to the rest of the album.

The sixth song on the record is “High Life,” simply put I would consider this my most preferred track on the CD. The lyrics are a composition describing a great Friday experience; partying in the woods with a tent, some booze, and a “green bag.” The opening guitar riff is very easy, but sounds pleasing to the ear. The solo taken in this song is one of my more liked solos of any recent time. The exiting solo is just a simple riff used by many different guitarists in today’s day in age to end a song, but still keeps you around to want to hear another song or two.

The ninth track on Artimus Pyledriver’s CD is “Get Some.” The introduction is very similar to the style of Metallica. The entire guitar part of the song sounds very close to the style of Kirk Hammett, a well respected guitarist of the past and present times from Metallica… for those who didn‘t know. While the bass keeps it simple and easy to hold onto in case Jimmy or Damon get lost, the drums keep it nice and clean so to keep the song free of any possible errors. This song is very different from the others that I have listed because it is not simply about drugs or cars, it has sentimental meaning as well. The lyrics are about them getting closer to the State that they live in; wishing that they were home while they are out on tour.

Overall, this is a very good CD for the band to get there professional career started on. The rocking instrumental throughout all of the songs reminds me of the times of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Metallica while the hard vocals remind me more of the new age metal. Any fans of sweet instrumental with some hard sounding lyrics should defiantly give this CD a try sometime. I’d have to give Artimus Pyledriver’s self-titled album an 8/10. I’m looking forward to any new material we will see from them.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Swamp Devil
02. Gone To The Mountain
03. Ride On
04. Dixie Fight Song
05. Dirt Road White Girl
06. High Life
07. Natural Progression
08. Shaggin’ Ass
09. Get Some
10. Up The Creek

Run Time: 43:31

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