Random pick from the big “to do” list today. Varga popped up on my Twitter feed a week or two ago and I finally got round to checking out their web page.
They’re from Hamilton, Ontario – another city which pinched its name from somewhere in the UK. The cheek. Plagiarism of place names aside, Varga (named after one of the band’s founders, Joe Varga – if not then it’s a hell of a coincidence) started off as a covers band, playing the bar scene and (probably – I’m making this up) being paid in flat beer and moose hooves.
As time went on, they realised that if they plunked the strings and banged the drums in a different order, they could make their own songs. So they did. And, bugger me, people only went and paid money to listen to them.
When you hear their album Enter the Metal you can appreciate why, though. In your face, simple yet varied heavy metal sounds. All the classic bits are in place – distorted guitar, crashing endings, plinky-plunky intros, angry vocals, head-banging rhythms.
Their influences are [name a classic metal band here] although I’d say the closest sound I can think of overall is fellow Canadians Annihilator – more for the vocals than anything else. Maybe it’s the silly accent. Or maybe I don’t know what I’m talking aboot (sic). Give their song “No More Clean Air” a listen and hopefully you’ll at least agree that I’m not losing the plot totally.
They’re actually not a new band, either, but one that’s had a tiny hiatus. Seventeen years since their last album, in fact. That’s quite a holiday…
Anyway, click below, listen, enjoy, go post crap on their facebook page. You know the routine.
official | facebook | twitter | youtube | soundcloud | google+
