One of the reasons why local scenes are so important is that they’re freaking weird. When you have a bunch of bands of the same style operating in one city or area, you get a hotbed of ideas that feeds off of itself; it’s easier to be weird when everyone is weird around you. This kind of self-feeding micro-scenes are becoming more and more prominent in metal and music in general: Atlanta hip-hop, Denver doom metal, Brooklyn black metal and more. Savannah, GA might not be the first name that might pop into your heads when you’re thinking of more locations to add to that list but it should: it’s home to bands like Baroness, Kylesa, and Black Tusk to name just a few. The sound which is usually associated with the city then is usually full of feedback, chunky bass and psychedelic influences.
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All of the above apply to Rude Dude and the Creek Freaks. Yeah, that’s their name. Problem? Not for these guys, as is evident from how much they lean into this weird branding choice with their upcoming album’s track names; the track we’re premiering today is titled “Dan Halen”. Their self-titled release, out on August 31st, is also seeing releases via new offshoot Graveface Records & Curiosities, branching off from the excellent Graveface Records. It takes its name from a local record store, centering it firmly within the Savannah scene.
And boy does it sound like it as well; this entire album goes incredibly hard on the stoner influences, drowning everything it does in thick bass lines, crashing cymbals and, naturally, a prominent and tripped out vocalist, harkening back to the good ol’ 70’s, where rock was loud, direct and in your face. The end result is a stoner rock/metal frolic that has your monthly recommended dosage of riffing and then some, never forgetting to embellish them with plenty of tasty guitar touches and interesting ideas drawn from country and southern folk music (listen closely for those banjo-esque lines on “Dan Halen” before the tracks outro kicks in and slows everything down).
Check out the label’s Bandcamp above and don’t forget to play it loud. And wherever you are, in every city big and small, out in farmland or congregated around the communal hearth of your own local scene, don’t forget to play it loud and to stay weird.