Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
The fact that some bands can form, or get together, whatever, and put a release out within a year of that formation can usually go either one of two ways. One way, the way that is generally the case in most of these situations, is a crappy, obviously hurried, or rushed effort. No time spent crafting worthy songs, trying them out on the stage’s live setting, and developing them out to be the best they could possibly be.
Thankfully, such is not the case here with Italy‘s Turbobobcat and their brand new EP release, the three-song ‘Pentastar Rocket Ride‘.
No, things have clearly gone the second way – the OTHER route altogether, where the band knocks it outta the ballpark with their first at-bat. See, the Turbobobcat quartet of Federico ‘Saturn Faun’ Indelicato (Vocals, Rhythm Guitar), Davide ‘Mr. White’ Guardo (Lead Guitar), Martino ‘Mr. Firebird’ Razza (Bass Guitar), and Pietro ‘Pyt’ Leanza (Drums), are a relatively new band.
Formed in 2016, these stray cats from Catania, Italy united over their shared love of such bands as Orange Goblin, (The) Melvins, Fu Manchu, Monster Magnet, and the like. They channeled that reverence into their own powerfully lethal mix of groove-geared, heavy Stoner Rock. You know the kind, constructed on the absolute domination of the riff and catchy as all hell. Reinforced with rhythmic rivets and tight-knit tempo modulation, the tunesters of Turbobobcat play bad-ass music possessed with plenty of heft.
From the barn-burning opening cut “Pentastar“, these dudes stomp the pedal to the stoner metal, and mediocrity be damned. The song barrels on with bluesy-but-blistering fuzz fueling and enough swagger to make ya stagger. The bar is set high right from the start with this relentlessly jamming rocker.
The intensity is dialed in even deeper on their namesake number, song two, “Turbobobcat“. A metallic edge takes a hold of this one, as the fretwork gets thicker and thicker. There are some gruffer vocals rolled out for the verses and even some group-given shouts at points, as well. So yes, the second song is also a winner, but it and its predecessor are merely the warm-ups.
Third and final track is the groove-toothed, riffened abomination that is “Bigfoot (Ruler Of The Shire)“. You can easily envision the lumbering behemoth referenced solely by the gargantuan footprints it leaves with a thundering thud. It’s in the impact of those grooves, roaring in the depths of these bottomless rhythms. Plus, this monster warbles with an evolutionary vocal presentation, one moment clean and cool, the next guttural aggressive.
With that final onslaught of audio attitude, comes the completion of the Turbobobcat powerhouse that is ‘Pentastar Rocket Ride‘, out via Black Bow Records. Fear not, for there is a wonderful treat awaiting you below, the Bandcamp stream of said effort – and better yet – its availability as an NYP (Name Your Price) item.
I highly doubt you are going to hear, and hopefully soon own, a better Stoner Rock release than this one at this time now.
