Shotgun Rodeo - Double Barreled Vengeance (2020)

SHOTGUN RODEO are a Groove Metal quartet from Trondheim, Trondelag, Norway. This is their third full-length album and first since 2018’s ‘’By Hook or by Crook’’. They have been at it since 2008. Groove Metal hasn’t been around much more lately, you had the great boom in the early 90’s but it pretty much died off in the early 2000’s. Bands are scarce in the genre so it was a nice surprise to see bands still doing it after all those years.

Starting off with the first track, you have a different feeling about the band. The sound seems a bit off at the beginning but that’s probably no accident. Then it really starts and it really sounds like late 90’s Nu-Metal, it’s not a knock on the band, I had some real GODSMACK vibes when listening to this song. It was a throwback for me back in the early 2000’s being a pretty big fan of the band. The music really reminded me of them but the vocals, I felt it was like a mix of Olof Wikstrand from ENFORCER and Benjamin Kowalewicz from BILLY TALENT. The high pitch and mid-tempo voice was alive and in full force on this album.

It really took the first few tracks to really get into it properly, I felt the vocals got on track because I was thrown off the tracks at the beginning because I was not expecting a vocalist like that for this genre. So it probably took me 4 or 5 tracks to feel at ease with the band itself. The band has altered their style from their previous releases though, they are more based on mid-tempo and emotional compositions, a bit more collected than their previous work. It seems to be less based on angst and aggression than the last few albums. The quick changes on some songs especially ‘’Knuckle Sandwich’’ are some striking key elements of the band. It definitely catches the attention of the listener. They seem to have found their sound.

At times the band delivers an all out Punk Rock assault, similar to the Punk elements of the aforementioned ENFORCER. I can sense a bit of the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal, the ongoing movement of traditional sounding metal bands. There is some serious attitude to he band and they pull no punches. They wanted to make a statement with this album and after listening to their previous albums, the band seems to be more mature. The sound is crisper and they have found the right balance.

A nice mix of early BILLY TALENT mixed with the Punk Rock Metal attitude of ENFORCER. A unique mix, not for everyone because of the high pitched vocals but worth a listen or to. Nice potential, solid effort. They really mix Nu-Metal, Punk Rock and early Groove Metal to establish their own identity and that goes a long way folks.