IN THE DEAD OF SLEEP

The band Ganon hail from Detroit and list their influences as "alcohol and video games" on their myspace site. They describe their sound as "a force that bulges with a spacious atmosphere and dust-laden trances of building rhythms and frequencies." Their debut "In the Dead of Sleep" is a ferociously heavy rocker blending a ton-and-a-half of Michigan muscle and attitude with thoughtful songwriting and playing. The band is quite good. A multi-guitar assault permeates every track with some parts crunch and other parts finesse, weaving together with meticulous, ambitious bass parts into a nice wall of sound. Drumming is equally agile and powerful. Listening to Ganon reminds me a bit of my days of cranking Dinosaur Jr. It's incredibly loud and forceful in every way but they also mix it up more than other some similar bands who tend to let things drone-there are no flies on the Ganon sound. The vocals are of the extreme variety and may be off-putting to some who dislike them, but those who don't mind the gravel throated work of Kenny will experience gale force energy that is in equal parts somber, exuberant, or raging. Ganon's next release "As Above, So Below" will be out in February 2008. Rock and metal fans should check out this promising band, you can hear songs from both albums on their myspace site. I also like their cover art quite a bit, representing the contrast in their sound with the bird (dexterity) and the thistle (raw edge) set against the darkness of the night sky. My interpretation, anyway, who knows what it means to them! Nice work all around though. 3 ½.