Article By: Leanne Ridgeway
Argonauta Records is on a rampage lately! In the wee early hours of this very morning, they announced confirmation of the label’s signing of American Weed Rockers WASTED THEORY, with plans to re-release their much-adored ‘Defenders of the Riff‘ album. We have some details on that, plus a crop of photos from recent live shows I attended, and a few other fistfuls of dirt…
Wasted Theory was born in July 2012, and raised in the Northern Mid-Atlantic salt air states of Delaware and Maryland. Fronted by Larry Jackson, Jr. on vocals and lead guitar, Brendan Burns on drums, bassist Rob Michael, and newcomer rhythm guitarist Andrew Petkovic, this heavy rock outfit conjures inspiration from several of the most hard-hitting, dirty blue-collar, beefed up rock n’ roll acts of the past 40 years. With influences like Artimus Pyledriver, Orange Goblin, Corrosion of Conformity, and Nazareth, the result is a guaranteed truck-ton of boot-stomping heavy music.
“We are totally stoked to work with Argonauta Records on the re-release of ‘Defenders of the Riff’.” the band says, “This album opened many doors for us in regards of new fans, new opportunities and seeing new faces at our shows, so getting the chance to breathe new life into it again means a lot to us. We’re looking forward to adding the new bonus tracks on it, as well, to make it a cool little collectors’ piece for our diehard fans. We’re very much looking forward to seeing where this collaboration takes us! Cheers!”
The Wasted Theory ‘Defenders of the Riff – 2017 Edition’ will feature two bonus tracks previously unreleased and will be available via Argonauta Records later this year.
Speaking of ‘Defenders of the Riff‘, Wasted Theory is all set to perform in the magnificent Descendants of Crom Festival lineup on Saturday, September 30th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This one-day festival is stacked with many of the heaviest hitters out today, including several legendary acts set for this special event.
Riff Relevant is a proud sponsor of DoC and some of us will be there in attendance. FIFTEEN BANDS for less than $35? We can’t pass that up, how could anyone? R.S.V.P. to the Fest’s Facebook Event and then grab tickets here.
I’ll be white-knuckled in anticipation waiting to see Wasted Theory again, as well as many others at Descendants of Crom. However, for those of you who *for some ridiculous reason* can’t make it to Pittsburgh on 9/30, you may have an alternate option one week beforehand. Just prior to their appearance at Descendants of Crom, Wasted Theory has a show scheduled on September 23rd in their half-home state of Delaware, at the Oddity Bar in Wilmington.
Also performing will be Clamfight, BlackHand, Disaster Committee, and Lord Crow. You can R.S.V.P. to the Facebook event.
I’ve seen Wasted Theory perform live twice in the past several months, in Atlantic City NJ, and Baltimore MD, two of the stops during their ‘Defenders of The Riff Tour‘ this past Spring. While each set was quite different due to the venue, crowds, and atmosphere, in that same thought, both of their performances were great. The photos below are from the Atlantic City show. Enjoy!
