“Panorama” is a good word to describe the latest album from a band with over twenty years of experience (ok they took a decade off). Fade To Black’s “G Street Panorama” is almost an enigma of a a record.

As it opened up, the first sounds I heard reminded me of Cream or Led Zeppelin, and then came a nod to Fugazi, but I never heard Fugazi sound so much like Bauhaus in all my life. I gotta admit “velvet Underground” come to mind, and then there is a bit of the “Dead Kennedys” thrown in to spice things up a bit.

Ok, so let’s get into the meat of the tunes a bit… It can be hard for me to understand the some of the harder edged stuff, these days, my ears don’t separate the vocal well enough, but in this case, the vocal is mixed just right, and the songs stand out lyrically as well as style-wise.

Eldon’s tunes are full of emotion, from love to anger, and he holds nothing back. I watched the entire “making of” video and in it, he alludes to not enjoying cutting the vox, but he’s done a great job of getting everything across in the right mood and feel.

A rough-edged voice screams and splatters punk laced venom one minute and whispers sweet-nothings straight to the ear in the next. This kind of thing can happen when you’ve been making music for so long, and I for one can appreciate seeing so many facets of a writer in one disc.

On first listen, I wasn’t sure the songs really went together to make an “album.” That won’t matter one bit in this “modern age” of “give me another single,” but as I play it over and again, I start to see the cohesiveness of it. It’s almost like a “day in the life of” perspective film covering the emotions that one goes through on a daily basis.

One writer said this one “borders” on punk, I disagree, he must be one of these youngsters that think mentos commercials make a punk band. This ain’t no glam-ified Foo Fighters stuff – this is Punk! From raunchy guitars and dirtied up bass, to the cracking drums and intense vocals, every minute is a new interesting surprise to fire up the ol’ synapses and get the blood flowing like a good punk record should.

Mike Anderson. and the gang have a winner for my playlist, this is one that I like more every time I spin it!

You can’t simultaneously gain knowledge of a track called “Aliens and Beer” and remain disinterested of it, and US based Fade to Black is doing all and THEN some in their considerable classic/doom/grunge rock charisma power to emphasize this point. The song is a clear initiatory representation of what this veteran formation is all about at first face value – massively guitar centered mid-range axe warfare that borders – JUST borders – on punk in its sonic volumetrics, backed up by a mean, and clearly audible bass presence and adept drum molestation skills that give any decent dope fiend drumma’ a run for the next fix. — Noise Shaft 2013

http://www.fadetoblacktheband.com/

Fade to Black – G Street Panorama review
Genre : Classic Rock with a Psychedelic, Doom and Grunge tint
Label : Silver Maple Kill Records
Origin : United States
Release Date : 2013

Update:

Stay tuned… I think we just may be getting Eldon and Mike to join us for an episode of Mid Tenn Listens, after Bonnaroo. Perhaps we can talk about the recording process behind a project like this… that had to be a challenge!