House Of Broken Promises: Using The Useless

Former Unida members lay down their gonzoid groove

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Knowing exactly what you’re going to get isn’t necessarily a bad thing. One case in point is when a band rocks up featuring three quarters of mid-period Unida: guitarist/vocalist Arthur Seay, drummer Mike Cancino and bassist Eddie Plascencia.

The trio have constructed their sound from that basic formula of massive riffs + rolling thunder of drums x beer = foot-stomping, neck-snapping perfection.

With the sort of blues-led immediacy that Red Fang are currently making a career out of, Highway Grit is basically the aural equivalent of the opening scene in Fear And Loathing… except rather than a bootful of amphetamines there’s a back seat full of half a dozen Playmates. Elsewhere, the lengthy Buried Alive captures the air of Crowbar kicking a hole in a brewery, and imbues it with the sort of ethereal and psyched-out air we loved about Kyuss.