I’ve been at my full-time job for eleven years. In those eleven years my co-worker and I have been in a few bands and talked about music as well. That co-worker though a couple of months ago was telling me about this new band he was singing in. Things progressed from just practicing to an outdoor gig, and then with only a few songs, an ep. That co-worker is Steve Frazier and the band is The Eternal Now. The Eternal Now are comprised of four guys in their fifties playing the music they love and grew up on. They are Steve Frazier (vocals), Jim Moss (guitars), Roger Dunn (drums), and Chad Rahe (bass). Working with Steve for all of these years we have exchanged music ideas, instruments, or anything music all the time. So, when The Eternal Now were progressing with what they were doing, and then actually in the studio I couldn’t help but be intrigued. They put together this six-song ep, and I was given the opportunity to review it so here it goes.

The ep kicks off with a song called “Tomorrow” and is a great introduction into what these guys do. This has everything that, for me, I enjoy about metal. Jim just absolutely crushes the guitar parts. Steve has a way of wrapping his vocal around the guitar. When Jim goes high so can Steve, if they go low so does Steve. I know this is true for pretty much all music, but when you are doing things that are out of your normal speaking voice, and truly singing it’s quite impressive. Then Roger and Chad are rolling that rhythm into your souls. From the rolling toms to double bass, and Chad ripping that bass playing along with Jim’s melodies, it is a flurry of beauty to kick back and listen to. Yes, this is all in one song, and there are six of these.

Each song tells a different story, and each song is not like the last which is also nice. Each song is its own thing but under the guise of what these fellas love: metal. I don’t like comparisons or labels, and won’t start now, but when you listen to them you can’t help but hear the influences. Especially in Steve’s vocal. With their style and sound, you can’t help but to simply embrace what it is. Like all great metal bands, sometimes the lyrical content can get lost behind the distortion, the speed, and sonics. I am fortunate to have a front row seat into that lyrical process. Steve would tell me the ideas he was working on for the writing of some of these songs. I am very much a person who loves the process, and the finished product is the gratification. But, as I would sit at my desk and listen to him describe to me what he was working on seeing the wheels turning in his head, and then to hear these songs was truly gratifying. Their song “Dead and Gone” is all about a guy whose done some bad and, in the end, will get the hangman’s noose, the gavel knock at the end was a nice touch. I like to think the guy got away somehow, but that’s just me. One of the last tracks L.I.A.M. (Love Is A Miracle), really lets Steve stretch his voice with the holding of the screams. Meanwhile behind Steve the guys are simply shredding. Long classic intros, metal drums, rockin bass, and vocals hitting up and down the register this is quite simply classic metal, and they do it well.

Six songs, all their own. Played and sung by guys who are in their fifties. Don’t let the age fool you though. They might get sore faster than the young women or men in metal now, but their playing can stand next to them without a shiver and maybe with a double take. These guys have brought the proverbial noise for you to feel within the pit of your souls. These songs are meant to be listened to loud, and with summer here and fall around the corner, I recommend rolling them windows down and test those car stereo speakers, and maybe piss off the neighbors or invite the neighbors over depending on what kind of neighbors you have. I’ve worked with Steve for eleven years and honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect before listening to the tracks, but when I heard them, I was impressed. The playing is stellar, and the vocals meld perfectly with what they are trying to do. If I didn’t have the background with and from Steve, I would’ve thought they’d been together for a lot longer than just a few months. When everything sounds seamless that’s the sound of putting in work. These guys have done that. Put together six songs that are quintessential metal. The Eternal Now are doing something that they love, and in the end that’s what shines through the most. The songs are well crafted and are fun to listen to. So, turn those speakers up, and let the fury of The Eternal Now travel with you wherever you may go.
 
 Head out to hear for yourself at The Southgate House Revival on Saturday, September 3rd for the Release Party!