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STUN EVENT was started by former OUT COLD members, Kevin Mertens and John Evicci, after their recent collaboration on OUT COLD's posthumous release: A Heated Display. Kevin had been the original singer for OUT COLD and rejoined the band on vocals in order to help them complete their final recordings after the tragic passing of the band's primary songwriter: Mark Sheehan. After their collaboration on A Heated Display, they decided to start a new project, including John's brother, Fred (another OUT COLD alumnus), and these six songs are the first recording from the band. Musically, STUN EVENT provides a fresh take on a genre that can be predictably derivative.The familiar elements are there but they're executed in such a way that the maturity of the musicianship and songwriting comes through. There are nods to early punk influences from disparate and somewhat unexpected sources: like THE FIX or NEGATIVE APPROACH playing "Paranoid Time" but the end result is all their own.
Our take: Debut 7" from this new band featuring several Out Cold alumni, most importantly drummer John Evicci and original vocalist Kevin Mertens. The label description kind of says it all when it compares this to the Fix or Negative Approach playing the Minutemen's Paranoid Time. This is most definitely hardcore, but nearly every aspect of it is substantially quirky if you pay attention. The rhythms in particular are really counter-intuitive and really quite inventive. John Evicci's drumming has always been a model of precision, and he's definitely perfect for all of the bizarre little twists and turns that these songs take. That sense of quirkiness also extends into the lyrics and (particularly) the lead guitar playing as well, which has a quirky sensibility that definitely doesn't rely on the harmonies you might expect. Of course all of this quirkiness means that Stun Event don't have the fist-pumping directness that Out Cold has, but particularly if you appreciate precise, inventive playing I think that the rewards of this 7" can be just as great as much of Out Cold's material. Perhaps not for everyone, but if you're also picking up that Udusic 7" this month Stun Event are in a very similar vein.
Our take: Debut 7" from this new band featuring several Out Cold alumni, most importantly drummer John Evicci and original vocalist Kevin Mertens. The label description kind of says it all when it compares this to the Fix or Negative Approach playing the Minutemen's Paranoid Time. This is most definitely hardcore, but nearly every aspect of it is substantially quirky if you pay attention. The rhythms in particular are really counter-intuitive and really quite inventive. John Evicci's drumming has always been a model of precision, and he's definitely perfect for all of the bizarre little twists and turns that these songs take. That sense of quirkiness also extends into the lyrics and (particularly) the lead guitar playing as well, which has a quirky sensibility that definitely doesn't rely on the harmonies you might expect. Of course all of this quirkiness means that Stun Event don't have the fist-pumping directness that Out Cold has, but particularly if you appreciate precise, inventive playing I think that the rewards of this 7" can be just as great as much of Out Cold's material. Perhaps not for everyone, but if you're also picking up that Udusic 7" this month Stun Event are in a very similar vein.