Guitar Rock Lives With Second Coming
As we speak, guitar rock is heaving a bloody, painful, gasping breath. Last year has left it a bruised and fallen star, beaten into a whimpering chart retreat by the likes of hip hop, rap and boy-toy pop.
What guitar rock really needs is a resurrection - or at the very least some serious medical attention.
Enter Seattle band Second Coming.
A number of rock fans and critics have hailed Second Coming as (pardon me, but I must say it) the second coming of guitar rock greatness. They have hailed the band as a group headed for a place alongside the likes of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.
And while some of the reviews seem like the hyperbole of those on “the next big thing” bandwagon, Second Coming does deliver some awesome slabs of rock and roll punch. They do in-your-face raucousness with a decidedly deft touch.
The band first began carving out a regional following in the early ‘90s with bassist Yanni Bacolas, drummer James Bergstrom and two other musicians. But by January 1996, the band split up, only to be reincarnated six months later with a new singer and guitarist - Travis Bracht and Dudley Taft, respectively.
And while 1998 may not have been good to guitar rock in general, it was very good to Second Coming. After a bidding war among several major labels, the quartet was nabbed by Capitol Records.
With the label’s help, the band reworked their self-titled album, added three songs and re-released it. The album is a lush thing based on chunks of crunching riffage and fitted with moments of string orchestration, gentle strumming and sampled soundscapes. With hints of Led Zeppelin and Alice in Chains, this quartet’s sound blends classic hard rock with modern intensity.
And boy does Bracht have the pipes (think of Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley). This guy not only has the guttural rock growls, he can also sing. And I mean really sing.
Whether or not Second Coming is able to breath new life into the guitar rock corpse as a whole has yet to be seen. But for those who simply want to listen to a band that remembers what rock and roll once was and yet hasn’t lost sight of what it could be, here’s your band.
And here’s your chance.
Second Coming performs at The Met Sunday. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 day of the show. They’re available through all G&B Select-A-Seat outlets or by calling (800) 325-SEAT.