Endeverafter – Kiss or Kill
It’s been a really long time since I’ve heard a power ballad. Now, in the late eighties and these were common place, but since the death of mainstream hard rock and hair metal bands in the early nineties, the rock world has really been lacking in the power ballad department. About a week ago I heard “Next Best Thing” by a band called Endeverafter and thought I had gone back in time or was having some sort of acid flashback. Luckily, I was grounded firmly in the present and just happened to stumble across a band that must have the same influences as I do.The L.A. band Endeverafter released their debut album in “Kiss or Kill” in December of last year but it’s just now making it’s way into Canada and not only does it have a power ballad but also incredibly catchy, heavy choruses, solid thrashy guitar riffs and a singer who obviously loved the eighties as much as I did: with a voice reminiscent of Jani Lane, singer/guitarist Michael Grant leads the quartet and does the majority of the songwriting, strutting and swaggering.
The newest release off of the album “Baby, Baby, Baby” packs a punch with huge harmonies powering up the chorus. “He Said She Said”, “Poison” and “I Wanna Be Your Man” keep going in the same awesome vein, although sometimes the verses come off a bit Emo. I guess that’s one of the qualities of the album that will help to keep Endeverafter grounded in the present and hopefully expand them to a larger audience.
As mentioned earlier, “Next Big Thing” pays tribute to the power ballads of old while “Long Way Home”, although slower comes off as much more contemporary.
The early nineties and the onset of the Grunge movement killed the eighties hard rock phenomenon but I feel like it also killed the rock attitude and the fist pumping, head banging arena rock spirit. Endeverafter manages to recapture this rock vibe in a way that current bands rarely do. Granted, I am sure that not everyone is down with all of the hair metal that was obviously a huge influence on this band and although the look and style of the band is definitely rock and roll, their sound although paying tribute to the past, is definitely living in the present.
Tags: album
