Local Buzz: Rocket Brigade [Central PA]

by: Kitty White

Rocket Brigade is a three piece from Enola, PA. Last year they released a 9 track album titled \m/.

Their influences range from The Smashing Pumpkins to Darkthrone to Black Sabbath and all are evident throughout their album. It’s eclectic but it works and they bring it all together into their own brand of hard rock. The beginning of the song ‘Brain Dead’ immediately reminds me of ‘Zero’ by The Smashing Pumpkins but it takes the sound to a heavier level than the Pumpkins’
track. The instrumental part of this band is definitely the highlight for me. When it comes to hard rock and metal it’s easy for the instruments and the vocal to blend together and become noisy mush. There’s a variety in their songs from the guitar led track ‘Epic’ to ‘You’ll Never Learn’ which starts off with drums you feel deep in your gut. That’s not to say it’s at all refined and perfect either. Rocket Brigade did not forget the dirt and garage vibes when it came to their own recipe for rock. It’s a bit rough around the edges but easy to hear where it’s intentional. Even through a bit of mess though you can tell the members of the band know their music and how to change everything up while still keeping with the formal idea of an album. It all comes together with a chaotic instrumental jam in the last track ‘Martian Transmissions’ which isn’t far from my own ideas of what our first alien contact would sound like. With \m/ being their first album, Rocket Brigade does a good job with forming solid ideas through their music and lyrics and making it accessible to fans. This album has given them a strong foundation to continue to cultivate their own brand of music upon and perfect their sound for the masses.

Check out more from Rocket Brigade here.
All photos courtesy of Rocket Brigade's Reverb Nation page.