Other bands play, REVERENCE MELTS FACES! Yeah, no kidding!! Hailing from the depths of New York City and Detroit, Reverence is a US Metal super group made up of Scott Oliva (ex-Wind Wraith, Innerstrength, vocals), Bryan Holland (ex-Tokyo Blade, guitars), Paul Kleff (ex-Metal Church live, guitars), Steve ‘Dr. Killdrums’ Wacholz (ex-Savatage/Crimson Glory, drums) and Russ Pzutto (Twisted Sister live, bass). Winners of the New Mexico Music Awards 2013 and with a heap of endorsements, the band have already released 2 full length albums and toured Europe, UK and the US. This 8 track EP, however, is something else. Dedicated to longtime guitarist Pete Rossi who passed away earlier this year, it contains his very last recordings with Reverence, including ‘Final Flight – RIP PJR’,a solo spotlight idea that he put together for the band’s live shows where he and fellow guitarist Bryan Holland were to trade guitar solos back and forth with a climactic solo harmony ending. While that will never happen now, this EP is a sterling testimony to what may have been! Certainly the energy and dynamic between the 2 guitarists is unmistakable and akin to other duos like Tipton & Downing, Murray & Smith and Hanneman & King, trading off one another effortlessly at an almost subconscious level as they twin riff roar while unleashing power melodies and killer licks on tracks like the slow but steamhammering ‘New Order’ with its catchy chorus, or my favorite ‘Firelord’, with its piston double bass drumming and chundering riffs, while Scott Oliva’s rough but soulful vocals hits the mark along with those aforementioned guitar melodies! With certainly plenty of gusto backing their face melting motto, the capability of this band even makes the acoustic ballad ‘Sleep’ a moving experience while not coming across as too light of a touch. “Foreverence” is a fitting tribute to Pete Rossi and beyond that, shows the tremendous talent in this band that I would strongly urge any lover of no messin’ metal to check out immediately!!!!
