It's Going Down Tonight

Gypsyhawk – Revelry & Resilience

Metal Blade Records – 2012       

Muthas, how many of you love Thin Lizzy and miss their brand of soulful, street-wise rock and roll?  The answer should be all of you!  Well Phil Lynott is long gone but there is a band from So-Cal that’s keeping that style of music alive and well in 2012 – Gypsyhawk.  The band has just released their excellent second album, Revelry & Resilience, on which they have taken that Lizzy sound, along with other great ideas from the 70s and 80s, and the result is a head-banging, toe-tapping triumph! 

Gypsyhawk is fronted by bass player Eric Harris, who is also in Huntress, and was formerly in Holy Grail and Skeletonwitch.  Harris has a rough and ready vocal style that matches the classic rock influenced cuts perfectly.  The songs frequently feature those snakey, intertwining, twin lead guitars that were a hallmark of Thin Lizzy.  Check out the tracks “Frostwyrm” and “The Fields” for a taste of that Lizzy sound. 

We are not saying that Gypsyhawk is some Thin Lizzy rip-off band, but rather that they drank deep of the heady brew offered up by Phil and the boys, and they allow this influence to show.  Lyrically, the album features songs about fantasy, science, science fiction, and plain old rockin’.  “Overloaded” is one of those  tracks that blasts the listener's face off with a sweet-ass anthem about living in the now.  Hells yes! 

The band ares obviously huge fans of George R.R. Martin's fiction, with many songs about his fantasy series, “A Song of Ice and Fire,” AKA “Game of Thrones.”  The first single, “Hedgeking” is one of those cuts that is infectious, heavy and must be played repeatedly.  Check out the kickass video for it below:

Other highlights include the speedy "State Lines," the crunchy "Galaxy Rise," and an ode to the Buckeye State "1345." The album wraps up, appropriately enough, with a cover of Rick Derringer’s “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo,” and is a fine interpretation of that rip-roaring 70s anthem.  Hop in your van with a barbarian painted on the side, lay some rubber down the highway, and blast this album at top volume!  Ditch your black/death/disco/nu/symphonic/operatic/hipster horseshit and listen to some real damn music!

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The Bottom Line:  If you like classic rock, Heavy Metal, Thin Lizzy or music that doesn’t sound like shit, then you should definitely run out and grab Revelry & Resilience.  Also, Gypsyhawk will be out on tour this fall with The Sword which is a hell of a pairing -- two rock solid bands that understand how to lay it down 70s style.  Get a ticket to the tour if you can, and buy these guys a beer.

As always, MAKE MINE METAL!