01/08/2025
Thanks to everyone who came out to Saturday’s show at True Story Brewing Company!
Pleasant Valley is a father-son duo, from Jones, AL featuring Jamie Hamilton on guitar and Kyle Hamilton on Drums. I’ve know these guys for well over a decade now and they’re always a blast to have on shows! Jamie was running a J.Mascis Jazzmaster into a Marshall half stack which he then hit on the front end with the Fuzz War pedal for his signature tone! His guitar sounds absolutely massive, but retains great note clarity! Kyle holds down the low end/rhythm section on his own and provides a rock solid foundation for Jamie’s riffs! They busted out a rad Kiss cover, but they’re originals were the true standouts of the set! Jamie’s ability to vary a riff just enough each pass keeps the listener’s engaged and rocking the whole time!
Next was Spirit Guardian Music. I always enjoy playing shows like these and this was no different! Whether I’m on stage, or running around the pit area I always have a blast! Thanks to everyone for listening!
EMBR took the stage next and are a Bham based quartet featuring Crystal Bigelow on vocals, Erik Bigelow on drums/vocals, Mark Buchanan on guitars, and Justin Regelin on bass/vocals. Mark’s guitar rig definitely had me in envy as he started the show rocking his custom Dunable into an Orange stack and had an absolutely monsterous tone! I asked the band after the show and they tune all the way to G standard and you can feel every riff right in your chest! Justin’s bass still punches through and his and Erik’s backup screams add a nice harsher element to contrast with Crystal’s mostly clean singing, with occasional screams! The songs are killer, and the band is always incredibly tight and easy to work with!
Gnarled was the last band to take the stage and they are a trio from Pensacola featuring Beav Kenoyer on drums, Tommy House on guitar, and Matt Perrenot on bass. These guys absolutely rip and play trippy stoner rock/metal. Beav was rocking a Florist shirt (amazing band that played here last year), and Tommy had on a Howling Giant show, who are 1 of my favorite bands! You can hear some kinship between all of these bands for sure and they rocked 9 minute long songs like it was nothing! They had killer riffs and song structure, and were super tight as well! I really enjoyed their set and they even extended it to help fill the time since Red Beard Wall wasn’t able to play due to sickness. Gnarled and Beard Wall are on tour right now so please follow them on socials and try to catch them when they come through to help support two great touring acts!
Huge thanks to Leon, Grace and Chris for their help with the show and them being just absolute gems! The next Iron City Sludge show will be on February 6th as we welcome EMBR and Spirit Guardian back to play with False Gods who are coming down from New York! It’s a weeknight but you don’t want to miss these guys!!
