Pop Evil’s Onyx
By Seth M
“After three Top 5 songs at Rock Radio, a fourth in the Top 10, a half million digital singles sold and over 1,000 shows a few short years into their impressive career, Pop Evil’s return with Onyx is a swaggering, fist-pumping, ball-busting ride through American rock. The grandiose melody of the ‘70s, the danger of the ‘80s, the emotion of the ‘90s and the loudest of modern riffs all have a home in Pop Evil, who fashion a fresh sound that looks to the future through the prism of rock’s past.”
That description is an excerpt from their press information and I can’t really disagree with it. Pop Evil ~ Leigh Kakaty (Lead Vocals), Nick Fuelling (Lead Guitar), Dave Grahs (Rhythm Guitar), Matt DiRito (Bass) and Chachi Riot (Drums) ~ remains a straightforward heavy rock band with good, well-written, no-frills hard rock songs.
The band released “Trenches,” the first single off Onyx, last month and it left diehard and new fans clamoring for more. When asked about the track, Kakaty said, “Lyrically this song talks about how we struggled to climb out of the trenches whether it was cleaning toilets or playing cover songs in bars in Grand Rapids. We just did what we had to do and kept grinding to prove ourselves.”
Pop Evil continue to prove themselves with the 12 new tracks on Onyx. which you can pre-order here.
Tracklisting
Deal with the Devil
Torn to Pieces
Divide
Beautiful
Silence & Scars
Sick Sense
Fly Away
Behind Closed Doors
Welcome to Reality
Flawed
Check out three music videos recently directed, edited and filmed by Johan Carlén, known for his Avatar videos, here.
Pop Evil’s Chachi Riot ready to rock Hagerstown on 4 23 13 ~ photo courtesy of facebook.com/popevil
I gave Onyx a full listen and know I will be listening to it again. Standout tracks for me included “Divide,” “Welcome to Reality,” and the opening track “Goodbye my Friend.” “Silence & Scars” slowed it down a bit but was a strong power ballad that I assume you’ll soon be hearing on your favorite hard rock station. In all honesty, this album could easily produce a few songs ~ like “Deal with the Devil” and a few of the aforementioned tracks ~ that will end up in heavy rotation.
If you’re inclined to check out some good straight forward hard rock then pick up a copy of Onyx on May 14th and don’t forget to check out Pop Evil live when they hit your town. And if you want to grab an “Onyx VIP Bundle,” make sure to place your order by THIS FRIDAY, April 26.
Touring started April 14th at the Fort Rock Festival in Florida the band will be hitting some great hard rock festivals along the way including the Lunatic Luau, Carolina Rebellion, Boob-A-Q, Rock on The Range and more.
Pop Evil Live Dates:
4/24/13 Greencastle, PA ~ Green Grove Gardens Event Ctr
4/26/13 Lynchburg, VA ~ Phase 2
4/27/13 Jacksonville, FL ~ Metropolitan Park
4/28/13 Ft. Lauderdale, FL ~ Revolution
4/30/13 Monroe, LA ~ Live Oaks Bar & Ballroom
5/1/13 Atlanta, GA ~ The Masquerade
5/5/13 Concord, NC ~ Carolina Rebellion
5/8/13 Waterloo, IA ~ Spicoli’s
5/9/13 Kearney, NE ~ Shooters
5/10/13 Springfield, IL ~ The Ramada Oasis Inn
5/13/13 Rapid City, SC ~ Rushmore Plaza Civic Ctr
5/14/13 Bismarck, ND ~ Civic Center Exhibit
5/15/13 Duluth, MN ~ Clyde Iron Works
5/17/13 Grand Rapids, MI ~ The Orbit Room
5/18/13 Columbus, OH ~ Rock On The Range Fest
6/1/13 Uncasville, CT ~ Mohegan Sun Casino Wolf Den