One band that seems to be constantly on the good bills, whether it be at Starland Ballroom or cool shows like Summer Jam at Raceway Park, seems to be my new buds from Lords Of Mercy out of Old Bridge, NJ. Now, these guys have been around the block with different bands, but they seem to have finally found the right chemistry together in Lords Of Mercy. The first time that I got to share the stage with these guys was back in January when we opened for Monster Magnet together. Since then, they’ve opened for Steel Panther, Bret Michaels, and Cycle Of Pain just to give you an idea of the momentum this band had going into 2012. A few weeks ago I got to see them perform at the inaugural Summer Jam at Raceway Park in Englishtown. Singer Brandon Sweeny seems to get what it means to be a frontman because his swagger on stage is reminiscent of your typical rock ‘n’ roll lead singer.
Lords Of Mercy formed back in August 2011, and they were kind of put together by some members of the original and legendary Old Bridge Metal Militia, or O.B.M.M., a group of rock enthusiasts known to have helped launch the careers of some of the top metal bands in the world like Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Overkill, and Anvil. These members have known each other for many years because their paths have crossed in their other respective bands. In 2011, the four musicians united to make music that “they” wanted to listen to rather than play what is, as they called it, “spoonfed to the masses.” Joining singer Brandon Sweeny in Lords Of Mercy is guitarist Danny “The Farrow” Anniello, bassist Joe Stabile and drummer Pete Perrina.
The boys from Lords Of Mercy currently only have a demo version of their song “Paralyzed” on their ReverbNation page (reverbnation.com/lordsofmercy). That badass song alone will give you a great idea of what you’ll get when you see the band live. I guarantee you’ll be seeing these guys sooner or later because they seem to be jumping on every great show that comes across the area. Find out when they’re playing next by logging onto lordsofmercyband.com.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
I just read an email from local guitar hero Steve Bello, who was recently handpicked by bass legend TM Stevens to perform with him recently at The Brighton Bar in Long Branch, and the email read that The Brighton Bar show was packed and, as he said, “Off the wall!” The highlight of Steve’s night was when Jimi Hendrix’s conga player, Juma Sultan, jumped on stage to jam with them. Steve says, “That’s the closest I will ever get to meeting Hendrix!” Steve said that the night was such a success that there will be more shows to come. For more on Steve Bello, log onto facebook.com/stevehimself.
Congrats are in order for North Haledon’s Thanatotic Desire, as they won this year’s Battle For Mayhem Festival at the Starland Ballroom a couple weeks ago. Thanatotic Desire won the opportunity to perform at this year’s Mayhem Festival at Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden on July 27. I’ll be featuring the band in a future column, but for now, you can check them out at facebook.com/thanatoticdesire.
And finally, I know I only mentioned them a couple of weeks ago, but my bros from Audio Machine have finally posted a couple songs for your listening pleasure online. The songs “Bleed Like Me” and “Eulogy” have been getting a lot of play, giving the new band some much needed momentum. Singer David Marcus will really impress you! Audio Machine has also finally come up with a name for the highly-anticipated EP. It’s going to be called Taste Of Sin and should be available in time for their debut show at The Blue Room in Secaucus on August 24. For more on Audio Machine, log onto reverbnation.com/audiomachine.
That’s all for now! If your band is from North Jersey, and you want some exposure, send your press kits to Arts Weekly, c/o Tim Louie P.O. Box 1140, Little Falls, NJ 07424, or you can email me at tim@theaquarian.com, where you can also let me know where you’re performing next!
Just remember….We’re all in the same boat, so every little bit of exposure counts!
Tim Louie is the Author of S**t Happens.
NJN Concert Calendar:
7/11—Cashmier/Ace Frehley—Best Buy Theater, NYC
7/11—Syka—Tammany Hall, NYC
7/13—Midnight Mosaic—EJ’s Tavern, Seaside Heights, NJ
7/13—Lieder—South Orange Elk’s Club, South Orange, NJ
7/13—Darkness Fest (Darkness Descends/Ashes Of Your Enemy/One Brick Down/Ruins Of Akora/Shadows Of Dawn/Ashes Of Amber)—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/14—Monmouth School Of Rock/Xero Gravity/Ixion Lux/Lower the Veil/Sleepy Hollow/Exxplorer/Prophet/Black Water Rising/Cycle Of Pain—Raceway Park, Englishtown, NJ
7/14—Mother/Scarlet Carson—The Legendary Dobbs, Philadelphia, PA
7/14—Darkness Fest Day 2 (Darkness Descends/Ghosts For Heroes/Flux Conspiracy/Julius Seizure/St. Avarice/Stagger/Thanatotic Desire/Ripface Invasion/Doomsday Diaries/Bad Case Of Big Mouth/That Of A Lion/Gyre/Throne Of Entrails—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/14—The Plot Thickens/BoundAlive/Fever Vein—The Clash Bar, Clifton, NJ
7/15—Aurin/Spineshank/The Agonist—Championships Bar and Grill, Trenton, NJ
7/19—The August Infinity—Highline Ballroom, NYC
7/20—Z02—Dublin Pub, New Hyde Park, NY
7/20—Panzie*/Anaka–The Gamercy, NYC
7/21—Killcode—Irving Plaza, NYC
7/27—Thanatotic Desire—Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ
7/27—Adema/Fever Vein—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
7/28—Scarlet Carson/Life Without Warning/Set It Free—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
7/28—Panzie*–The Hampton Bowl, Hampton, NY
8/2—Julius Seizure/Thanatotic Desire—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
8/4—Black Water Rising/Kix/Our Black Friday—Rockin’ The Lake Summer Festival, Pompton Lakes, NJ
