Kadavar played here in Atlanta a couple of months ago for the first time ever. Getting to see Kadavar for the first time ever was such a huge fucking exciting time for me. I couldn’t think of a greater gift than the gift of music from a band I really love and admire. Well, just when I thought the night couldn’t get any better, Kadavar presented me with a gift that I am eternally grateful for. That gift was the gift of pre-show intermission music.
I know what you’re thinking. Gee Don, that’s not a gift. That music is just shit to fill the void between bands. Well, normally I would agree but as I stood front stage center waiting for my Krautrock heroes to take the stage, I couldn’t help but be completely mesmerized by the music that I was hearing over the PA. One sing came and went, then another, and finally by the time the 3rd song played I vacated my prime spot and approached the soundboard to ask the sound guy what it was that was playing. He looked down at the iPad that was streaming music and says, “Man, this is Stone Axe. Aren’t they awesome?”
Eventually the music went away and Kadavar came out on stage and kicked everyone’s fucking faces in and owned everyone’s asses. I went home that night and before I could forget about it I went to Spotify and I created a playlist of Stone Axe so that I could go back and reference it again and take it in. Well, as always, life got busy and I forgot to get back to Spotify to really give them a listen. Well, today I sat down and I thought to myself, “I really need to listen to that Stone Axe stuff.” I found my playlist, I hit play, and my face proceeded to melt clean off my skull and my mind just soared. I closed my eyes and took it all in and ya know what? I was right. I had indeed found another new favorite band.
Stone Axe describes their music as “70s HARD ROCK ORGY WITH ALL OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS.” Listening to the band’s albums Stone Axe I & II I have to say that they couldn’t have said it any better or any truer. “There’d Be Days Like This” has all of that boogie woogie swagger of AC/DC meets Humble Pie yet they turn it all round on a song like “For All That Fly” sounding almost like a lost Black Crowes classic. “Stonin’” just may be the best Deep Purple song never recorded and “Return of the Worm” sounds like a Jimmy Page/Robert Plant composition sung by Bon Scott fronting Black Sabbath. Man, just typing that melted my fucking face off and had me reaching for the repeat button just to hear this song again. Song for song Stone Axe just had me smiling, nodding and feeling every note, hanging on very soaring vocal, and nodding with every stank nasty groove.