RoadkillSoda – “Mephobia” [Album Review]

With so many great rock/hard rock/stoner rock/70’s rock bands releasing so much great material at any given time, what can a band do to stand out among the rest? Well, sometimes something as simple as an eye popping album cover can do the trick! So, that brings us to RoadkillSoda’s latest offering, Mephobia. Wow… So, I stared at it for a bit, then stared at it some more…and then I realized I should start reviewing the actual music…

RoadkillSoda are from Romania and have been putting out solid material since 2014. In fact, with 4 previous releases and 6 videos under their belt, I’d say they’re doing quite well. Today, they are on the verge of issuing their latest recording, Mephobia, to a rabid and growing fan base and, hopefully, rock fans from all over the world will take notice.

To me, their sound crisscrosses several rock genres but it leans heavily on 90’s grunge and desert rock. It’s what I would call road-trippin’ music. Every tune has a catchy riff to go along with a catchy drum beat and bass line. It’s an easy listen and there’s a high probability that you’ll start tapping your foot along to the beat. Oh, and for you guitar fans, there are solos, lots of them, and some tasty licks to boot!

One of those foot-tappin’ ditties is entitled “Dip.” Clocking in at almost 9 minutes long, it encompasses everything I mentioned above and then some. This song IS the background music to just about every dive bar I’ve stumbled into with a house band and the cheapest beer on tap. That’s a good thing by the way. The leadoff track, “Prometheus,” has a Red Fang meets QOTSA feel in the very beginning, but then breaks down into a RoadkillSoda groove that is ever so prevalent on their prior releases. I’m going to say it one more time, it’s a foot tapper.

So in summary, Mephobia is a solid (insert favorite genre of choice here) rock album. The production is clean, the tones are great. Oh, and let’s not forget about the cover artwork, this is an important element for any release when rating an album, if you ask me. Mephobia is a definite must-add to any of your road-ready playlists.

Mephobia Track Listing:

01. Prometheus
02. Bipolar
03. Consequences
04. Easy
05. Casualty
06. Legless
07. Order
08. Dip
09. Backhander
10. Tonight
11. Trust

Run Time: 53:39
Release Date: November 14, 2017

The band released this teaser for the new album Mephobia.