US band VERMILION WHISKEY was formed back in 2010, and are based out of Louisiana. They appear to aspire to be as active as a live band as possible, their mission statement being …”lives for the thrill of the stage, no matter the crowd size”. They have one album to their name so far, as well as this forthcoming EP, “Spirit of Tradition”, which is set for official release on February 17th 2017.

Vermilion Whiskey is a band that undeniably is from the southern US, with southern rock being a mainstay element in their music. It is not the dominant style however, but rather an ongoing feature liberally flavoring this band’s particular take on hard rock.

The six tracks on this EP does provide some variation in style, but if I should place this band inside a specific category I guess grunge or stoner rock would do the trick quite nicely. They do head off into more straight forward, US style hard rock as well as more doom-laden territories on their way, but general variations on the classic grunge style and stoner rock are the most dominant aspects of their music as I experience it. The band comes across as a tight knit unit, delivering firm guitar riffs and solid rhythms in support of the melodic yet raspy lead vocals of Thaddeus Riordan. And while some of the tracks do come across as cuts better suited to the live stage than to a studio album they do have their fair share of compelling and appealing songs as well, and at least as far as my own taste is concerned I enjoy this band best whenever they hone in on the darker and more doom-laden parts of their material.

Vermilion Whiskey cites bands such as Soundgarden, Judas Priest and ZZ Top as influential, as well as a few others, and in this case the possible influences off the three bands mentioned are easy to hear. But all in all, if the thought of an EP’s worth of southern rock flavored stoner rock sounds like a good idea to you, then this is a production you probably should get familiar with.

My rating: 70/100

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Track list:
Road King; The Past Is Dead; Come Find Me; Monolith; One Night; Loaded Up