Cascadence

Lately I have been very focused on music that creates very deep visual impacts.  I love the feeling of closing your eyes and letting the music put the visual images in your head.  As much as I love the imagery, there is another part of music that I have been lacking as of late.  Fun!

Sometimes you just need to put on some tunes, bang your head, and enjoy what’s coming out of your speakers on a completely superficial level.  A lot of musicians made a lot of money during the Glam era doing just that.

Although not Glam, Cascadence creates that fun and easy listening that can often be lost in Hard Rock/Metal.  Johnny Oak (vocals/guitars), Bryan Vitalo (bass), and Dar Franks (drums) have created a brand in Cascadence that is radio friendly, chorus driven, and most importantly; a lot of fun.

Cascadence is a very young band, but having started their music education early in their lives has paid off with a great sound that will appeal to a variety of listeners.  The EP I am about to review consists of five songs and leaves you wanting more.  Fortunately these New Jersey rockers are working on a full length as I type.

Having stated above the band hails from New Jersey makes me break the silence.  There is another very famous band from New Jersey that made radio friendly music based on everyday stories that affect every day people.  That band would of course be Bon Jovi and Cascadence has certainly taken that “Jovi” sound and modernized it.  I’m not talking about that damn Country thing Bon Jovi is doing now: that’s a whole other blog.

Review after the warp:

As for the EP: the opening track “Let’ Get Ready” does exactly that. It gets you ready for a hard rocking experience with some great vocal work by Johnny and a solid rhythm that will sound great in my car as I blast down the highway.

“The First Time” has a more punkish sound.  The song is comparable to bands like Sum 41 or Blink, but with a harder edge.  You can imagine what the story behind the tune is.  If you can’t you should be playing video games, not reading a music blog.

The song that is stuck in my head right now is “Waiting.”  Johnny has some distorted vocal work that blends well in the background.  Seeing as Cascadence is a three piece, I’m curious how they will recreate this song live as the EP has a very full sound.

For that all out Bon Jovi sound you have to listen to “Breakout.”  I don’t think that Bon Jovi could play the modern methods of this song, but the vocals telling the story of a young girl trying to get out of her small town to chase her dream is universal.  “Breakout” is a great track and my favorite.

“In Vain” is a great hard rocking tune that has the most metal influence of all the tracks, especially in the guitar work.  This song has another strong chorus that will leave you singing along very quickly.

Overall this is an amazing EP.  It left me wanting more from the band and excited at the prospect of a full release coming very soon.

Remember music should be fun and Cascadence provides that in spades.

Show me your horns,

Martell

Tags: album review, bon jovi, cascadence, hard rock blogs, heavy metal blogs, johnny oak