Email arrived from Grae to tell me about the band he’s in from Pittsburgh. And they play in the NWOBHM style. I guess Grea brings that influence as he tells me he’s a Brit originally from Bognor Regis – that well known seaside resort.
How Grea found his way to the other side of the Atlantic and in to a NWOBHM band I do not know.
Perhaps he doesn’t either as he says about Del Rios: “They can’t remember when they formed as it may have involved a pub.” Sounds fair enough, right.
A potted history is as follows.
The original Del Rios line up of Metal Mary (Derketa, Behind Enemy Lines), Metal Matt (Behind Enemy Lines), Sammy the Fish and Nick Rivers established themselves in the Pittsburgh Punk/Metal scene with their first album ‘Lobos’, a full-on spit ‘n venom collection of songs.
Metal Mary left the band in 2015 and was replaced by Grae, some English dude, taking over on vocals and adding a second guitar. Grae is best known from Boston’s ‘Bang Camaro’, a Heavy Metal outfit who toured the USA and appeared on both the ‘Guitar Hero’ and ‘Rock Band’ games.
Grae’s NWOBHM influences have provided the band a new dimension, and the result is their new record ‘Blood River’.
Blood River is available for streaming and download from http://delrios.bandcamp.com
I had a listen. It’s frantic stuff with the (welcome) New Wave of British Heavy Metal influence to the fore. A sort of a Motorhead/Angelwitch mash up. Tasty!
Their record release show is at Gooski’s in Pittsburgh on the 10th December.
Here’s their Facebook page: http://facebook.com/delrios666
Refreshingly, Del Rios record in their own studio and have our music online for free to keep costs down. They aim to keep their music free and their shows at only 5 bucks.
