I recently received an email about a Jersey band I’ve never heard of in my life, which is pretty rare because I know many of you fuckers! You might not think that I do. Just because you haven’t been featured in this column yet, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t on my “local radar.” I’m just waiting for the right time to feature you. Anyway, I received this email about Torrential Downpour out of Haworth, NJ and I have to say their brand of metal was interesting to say the least. I almost felt that it was trippy metal if that makes any sense. In other words, I felt that I needed to smoke a fatty to really, really enjoy it. I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy it. The musicianship on their upcoming CD, Truth Knowledge Vision, is incomparable to the experimental metal that’s out on the scene now.
Torrential Downpour’s history spans across almost two decades, but their music is anything but typical and described by some as “space metal.” Like I said, it sounded “trippy.” Their music is actually a unique blend of technical and progressive metal infused with post-rock tendencies. Drummer Peter Costa and bassist Matt Cece formed Torrential Downpour in the late ’90s, but the lineup and face of the band took some time to shape. In 1998, they found a singer with a weird name, PrKr, and in 2000, guitarist Jason Volpe joined the band, finalizing the incarnation that we can see live on stage today. Torrential Downpour did a lot of maturing musically in the 2000s, refining their sound a bit by injecting more elaborate, improvisational elements. In 2007, they entered the studio to record their self-titled debut, which they released in 2009.
Since the release of their self-titled debut, Torrential Downpour have been on fire, garnering attention wherever they went. On June 10, the band releases their latest opus, Truth Knowledge Vision, which features some smoking tracks like “Satan, Whatever…,” “The Prayer,” “TKV” and “Bring The Stars Down.” You won’t even know what hit you after you hear these songs. For more info on Torrential Downpour or to find out how you can catch them live, log onto torrentialdownpour.com or facebook.com/torrentialdownpournj.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
I know that I mentioned these guys last week, but this is how much work they’ve been doing to promote themselves. The guys from GEARS, featuring my little bro Tommy Herres, formerly from Scarlet Carson, have released their debut music video for their song “Burning Both Ends Out” off of the band’s highly-anticipated debut CD, Set In Motion. The song is just kick-ass hard rock! That’s all I can say about it. Check the music video out on YouTube, youtu.be/IBysaWJ1jCk and check GEARS out at facebook.com/gearsofficial.
My bros from Black Water Rising have some killer shows lined up. They’ll be playing at Webster Hall in NYC on June 1 with Crobot and Scorpion Child. Then they hit Revolution Bar And Music Hall in Amityville, NY on June 6 with Adrenaline Mob, and then they bring that show to Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ on June 8. The BWR boys are going to be pretty busy that first week of June. Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for their brand new music video for their song “Dance With The Devil” off of their latest effort, Pissed And Driven. For more on Black Water Rising, log onto blackwaterrising.com.
And finally, it sounds like my bro John Kosco is getting ready to rev up the Saint Caine engine again. He texted me last week that he had a bunch of dates to announce, with one of them being Dingbatz. I also heard rumors that Kosco and Ours head honcho Jimmy Gnecco will be doing some acoustic performances at this year’s Inked Out Tattoo Convention in September at the Meadowlands Convention Center. For more on Saint Caine, log onto facebook.com/saintcaine. Don’t forget to check out the Jersey Shore Festival in Seaside Heights this weekend!
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:
5/14—Traitors/A Wake In Providence/Born A New/Dividing Decades—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/15—SYKA/Anvil—The Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
5/15—Killcode/Stephen Pearcy/Flames Of Fury—The Emporium, Patchogue, NY
5/16—Sekond Skyn/Mesmeria/Division 1.1/Skurge/The 39—Roxy and Duke’s Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ
5/16—Chevonne And The Fuzz—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/16—Hammer Fight—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
5/16—Warhammer/Flowers To Flames—Tavern on the Lake, Hightstown, NJ
5/17—Long Gone Day/Decypher—EJ’s, Seaside Heights, NJ
5/17—Gathering After Ashes—The Boneyard, Atlantic City, NJ
5/18—Audio Empire/John Corabi—Crossroads, Garwood, NJ
5/22—DIVE/Statik Silence/Ascending From Ashes—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/22—Jim Florentine—Crossroads, Garwood, NJ
5/23—Outernational/Bodega Satellite/Fauz Johnny/The Catching/Revel/Ready For Nothing/Rusty Mailbox—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ
5/23—IKILLYA/Ashes Within—The Studio at Webster Hall, NYC
5/24—Spider Rockets—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
5/24—Dying Eyes Of Sloth/Psychoprism/Gathering After Ashes/Threatpoint/Earthbound—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/24—Lieder—Clash Bar, Clifton, NJ
5/25—The Murder Junkies/Half-Witted Dogs/Buzzard Wagon/Darrow Chemical Co./The Unknown—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/30—Paulie Z—The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
5/30—Electrx Avalanshh/Broken By Chance/Hot Pink Apocalypse/Broken Angels/Couples—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ
5/31—Insubordination/Faction Zero/Social Decay/Enrage/The 8008ies/Jackknife/Automatic 253/Skunkdaze/Last Day/Johnny 2 Strokes/Eli/The Damn Long Hairs—The Blue Room, Secaucus, NJ
5/31—Pralaya/Syka/Stelladeora/Revel 9/Archie Alone/Coversa—Tenth Street Live, Kenilworth, NJ
5/31—Goon Saloon/Starchild/Fire Inside/The World Famous Skulls—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
6/5—Tempt/Kore Rozzik/Amatory Murder/Single Bullet Theory/Tired Wings—The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY
6/6—Chevonne And The Fuzz/The Disgraces—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
6/8—Adrenaline Mob/Aurin/Black Water Rising/New Day Dawn/Gathering After Ashes/Midnight Enternal—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
