Metal traditionalists Gunpowder Gray offer free demo download
Local metal and punk loving newcomers Gunpowder Gray pay homage to the classics on its first batch of demo tracks
- Adam Hughes/Silver and Cold Photography
- RIDING WITH THE CLASSICS: Gunpowder Gray’s rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Chris Heffernan, drummer Joey O’Brien, lead guitarist Adam Besserer, bassist Sam Vaughan, and vocalist Nate Godbee.
Gunpowder Gray is a local quintet of young punk and metal lovers who, instead of copying obscure death or thrash predecessors, stick with a sleazy, blues-tinged rock sound that’s driven by heavy guitar riffs. Because of this, the band likens itself on social media sites to classic acts that influenced more than just metal, such as Thin Lizzy and Black Sabbath. Those influences and others, ranging from American metal progenitors like Pentagram to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, can be heard on the band’s three song demo, available for free on Bandcamp. On the two original tunes, the young man’s fantasies are about drugs (“Gunpowder Gray”) and a long-legged redhead (“Cummin’ My Way”), instead of death or the occult. Rounding out the demo is a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Play With Fire” that stays true to the original, until near the halfway point, when the band’s guitarist tandem begins a full-on aural assault.
Demo by Gunpowder Gray