A welcoming roar of applause greets Penfold as he strides to
the center of the stage. He has the
audience in the palm of his hand before he even says a word.
"Good afternoon National Tanks Conference And Expo
2016!"
(roar)
"Thank you so much for letting me speak to you
today. I am honored to be among the
leading water tank professionals from around the United States!"
(loud claps and whistles)
"This is truly rarified air I'm breathing right now. This is air filled with ideas and
innovations! This is air that has
medicinal power! Trust me, I know. Three days ago I went to the doctor because I
felt lousy. Do you know what that doctor
told me?"
(a chorus of 'what?')
"That doctor told me that I had a high grade
fever. He told me that in order to get
better I had to surrender to the sickness and rest up. I told him right then and there that I had a
convention to get to. He said no! Stay home he commanded me!"
(lots of booing)
"Boo indeed! But
do you know what I said in response to that quack? I looked him right in the eye and declared
I'm going to that conference!"
(cheers erupt)
"My destination isn't unknown to me! I will not surrender to any illness! I'm going to that conference to be with my
fellow water tank enthusiasts!"
(the cheering intensifies)
"Yes my friends.
I boarded that plane and felt my fever slipping away like the wispy contrails
my winged chariot's passage created in the sky!
Attending this expo hit the automatic reset button on my immune system
and right now I feel fantastic!"
(standing ovation)
"But enough about me.
At this time I'd like to introduce a topic I have a lot of opinions about."
(a nervous, expectant hush falls over the audience)
"That's right.
It's time to talk about Petroleum Vapor Intrusion!"
(mass hysteria, someone in the front row passes out)
Hello waveriders!
Looking for something new to tickle your eardrums? Something that will fulfill all of your
heavily distorted needs? You know what I
mean, something gnarly! But wait, you
need something else too right? Perhaps
you're looking for a new album that is suitable to share with music aficionados
who have less metallic tastes? Well
you're in luck my friends because I recently discovered a magical album
entitled Destination Unknown by the
band Watertank.
Let's get something out of the way right off the bat. When you listen to Watertank you will
immediately compare them with Torche.
Why? Because Watertank sounds an
awful lot like Torche. Songs For Singles-era Torche to be exact. Colossal riffs that shake the rafters at any
volume coupled with tremendous melodies that stick in your head like spray-on
insulation. The aural recipe Watertank
follows on Destination Unknown is so
delicious to my ears that each time I listen to these songs my brain goes on an
involuntary sugar rush!
In case this talk of melodies has some of you concerned that
Watertank fails to deliver on the rock front fear not! Take a listen to album opener "Automatic
Reset", "Surrender", "Contrails", or the incredibly propulsive
"Fever". Just be sure to have
neck protection because the good times don't end there! If you're wanting something a little slower
and more sludgy then queue up "DCVR".
"Last_Lost Hope" builds itself gradually and deliberately into
a brilliant musical climax. "Doomed
Drifters" begins with some appropriately forlorn sounding guitar-work
which quickly transitions into a huge riff before the song completely
transforms halfway through it's running length.
"Scheme" is gorgeous and the altogether impressive title track
serves as the album's closing statement.
Not a dud in the bunch.
The bottom line here waveriders is that Destination Unknown from Watertank is an incredible album. I love listening to these songs and if you
are looking for some heavy tunes with broad melodic appeal you will too! Do yourselves a favor and check this band out
right now.
-Penfold
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