Pyromance - Carnal Carnage

Pyromance

Carnal Carnage
self-released; 2015

3.4 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

All you have to see is look at a picture the band Pyromance on their Bandcamp page to figure out what type of music they play. One guy has a Gene Simmons tattoo; the other has an AC/DC t-shirt and all of them look they could be in the movie Detroit Rock City. On their release Carnal Carnage the band plays music, which feels like one big tip of the hat to Dinosaur, stadium bands from Guns N’ Roses to AC/DC and everywhere in between. The band is currently composed of Jake Blatchly (vocals), Chris Fleming (guitars/backing vocals), Dan Nembach (bass/backing vocals) and Anthony Trudgett (drums/backing vocals).

The first thing that needs to be discussed is the vocals. I think it is more than fair to say that people will have an ambivalent relationship with the singing. If you want to be nice you can say Blatchly sounds somewhere between Axl Rose and Brian Johnson from AC/DC. The reality is the vocals can be extremely shrill and high-pitched at times (also sometimes off-key). I didn’t mind it for the most part but there are points that were too much for my ears to endure. Suffice it to say there is still some work that can be done for the vocalist to have a bit more of a palatable delivery.

The band opens with “Tear The Sky” which takes its cues from every AC/DC song you have ever heard. Most of the lyrics lean heavily towards tropes you heard in ‘80s hair metal, for example lyrics like, “Girl your body is a temple and I'll worship you right now / Girl your body is a temple and I'll tear it to the ground.” “Touch My Body” melds arena rock/ ‘80s rock with guitar solos and pounding drums.

I swear the talking interlude they have on “Friends & Fiends” is a salute to the song “Get In The Ring” by Guns N’ Roses. Although much shorter, it’s very similar. They close with a solid song entitled “Seduction & Destruction” which continues with lyrics that hail the wild nights of stereotypical glorified rock star.

Pyromance feeds the clichés of rock (especially ‘80s arena rock and hair metal) to such an extent it almost feels like a parody. Sort of like Spinal Tap. I hope they take that with the spirit in which it’s intended because it could be a good thing. I’ll put it this way. If they have a hard time finding success with originals they can surely pay the bills playing parties, weddings, etc. by dressing up as they already do and doing a set of songs like “Sweet Child O' Mine,” “Highway To Hell,” “Sweet Emotion” and “Talk Dirty To Me.”

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