Skull Jack dishing up some Heavy Metal, southern style!

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When I think of Tennessee, I tend to think of the music scene that it gives us, but most particularly country artists. After listening to Skull Jack, I will now be grateful for the hard rock/metal scene that has developed. Skull Jack was formed in 2009 by guitarist Dale Sheppard and in the short time since, have accomplished many things. They had won Nashville’s Best New Metal Band award in 2011 and went through an almost complete lineup change. They now have a strong solid group with Eddie Walker on drums, Ryan Lessard on vocals, and Kevin Buttler on Bass. These four guys each started in music at quite a young age. Together with their combined experience have created their unique sound of hard rock, metal and a touch of Southern Rock. After Dale and Eddie working together to write new material, what they completed is a strong sound 3 track Demo.

I had the opportunity to listen to the demo and it completely rocks with some raging metal strewn in. The first song, Numb starts right off with some crunchy riffs complemented by Eddie’s precision drumming. Ryan’s vocals have a great growl/gruff style that is powerful yet not overwhelming. It has a Pantera feel to it that its unique in the sense that they are in no way imitating, just creating their own style. Check out a video for Numb here:

Next up, is Make Me Ill. I love the dark mysterious intro that leads you into a more metal style song. it just bleeds intensity and energy. Lastly, their song Disease gives you double dose intensity with this high octane metal that has you with your fists in the air. Definitely Pantera inspired with some Iron Maiden and includes a bitchin breakdown.

This demo definitely showcases their sound and will have us wanting more! They have also been known to provide an excellent live performance and it is no wonder that people have described them as “the best live performance they have ever seen”. When they hit the stage, they are giving you everything and don’t stop short of a 150% energy. That is what we need more of today, a focus not only on great music but delivering a kick ass show that draws the crowds.

They have a couple upcoming shows that if you are in the area, make sure to check them out. On August 11th they will be hitting the stage for the Evolution Music Tour @ Rocketown. You can still get pre-sale tickets here. Then on September 8th at Gorilla Music Nashville Battle of the Bands finale @ the Rutledge and on October 18th at the Project Independent Showcase @ the Rutledge. You can get more details about these shows as well as upcoming show dates on their social media links listed below.

So now it is time to crank up some Skull Jack and get hooked on this fast rising band.

~ Crank it up loud, Marisol

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