Guttergodz

There is something irrevocably indomitable about the British rock scene. Like a dog with a chew toy, it simply refuses to let go. Through nearly forty years of imitators trying to steal its crown, good old rock’n’roll has proven time and again that it simply will not go away. Punk, pop, RnB, acid house, they’ve all tried their best but they just simply cannot bury the beast forever.

Standing as a monument to this is The Guttergodz. This former tribute act from Aberdeen release their debut album of original material, Go For Broke. With eight blistering tracks of unadulterated, beer soaked, Marshall amped rock and roll, the band stand as testimony to the never-say-die attitude of hard rock that has stood so many great bands in great stead over the years.

Very much in the Guns n Roses, Thin Lizzy and Motley Crue molds, the Guttergodz fuse the altogether brash, fist-pumping and ever-so near the bone rock that still electrifies live venues up and down the country. Fronted by the charismatic and, quite frankly, wonderfully named Jon “Bon” Davie, the three-piece act have honed their style, tone and repertoire since 2008. The product is a tight, raw, teeth gnashing hard rock bordering on metal sound that would never seem out of place in the soundtrack to an Expendables movie.

Kicking off the album is the high-octane ‘Go’, a track that less than subtly announces the intentions and motives of the band from the opening guitar lick. This balls to the wall, toe-tapping action continues throughout, ‘Mess Again’ and ‘Gypsy Girl’ mix up the tempo and tenacity of the album and keep the listener holding out.

Hidden gem of the album goes to ‘All I Wanna Do (Is Rock and Roll).’ Hardly the most original track name, granted, the opening crunch of Davie’s guitar as it throws up the anthemic riff gives any and all rock fans reason to listen up. The percussion, aptly provided by drummer Doug Rumbles and bassist Sep Moore, bleed into the track with the usual verve and expert timing normally associated with KISS, The Cult and a smidgen of Iron Maiden. Like it or not, this is hard rock calling. You had better accept the charges.

A fine line exists between imitation and originality. Where does sampling and genuine influence end and plagiarism begin? That is a question that plague music and, as a wider industry, art as a whole.

The Guttergodz are a hard rock band, plain and simple. In an age that has been less than kind to that genre of music, many aspiring artists and bands fall victim to the parlance and unfair accusations of being little more than re-hashers of old material. Perpetually stuck in a 70s time warp.

Yet it would not be rock and roll if there weren’t at least some form of mild absurdness and controversy surrounding it. Call The Guttergodz imitations if you will. But they’re proudly flying the flag of a style of music that so many modern industry figures and act owe a lot of debt to. Whether they like it or not, rock is here forever. The Guttergodz and Go For Broke are evidence.