Album Review: Vermilion Whiskey - Crimson & Stone
Reviewed by Lana Teramae
Hailing from South Louisiana is southern rock / heavy metal band Vermilion Whiskey. The band’s sound consists of meaty riffs, greasy melodies, and a whole lot of southern swagger. Vermilion Whiskey is preparing to release their third studio album ‘Crimson & Stone’ on May 26, 2023. The lineup consists of Thaddeus Riordan on lead vocals and guitars, Ross Brown on lead guitars, Jason Decou on bass guitar, and Wade Perkins on drums. Tommy Buckley recorded the drum tracks for the album, however.
The good news is that it works to some extent. There’s some killer lead guitar work on ‘Crimson & Stone.’ Brown’s playing compliments Riordan’s piercing riffs really well on tracks like 'Down on You' and 'The Get Down'. Other highlights include 'Confidence' and 'Good Lovin’'; the former displays such groove and a hook to die for. The heavy bass lines and impressive kick drum work are also worth taking note of because the songs wouldn’t be complete without them.
Track six is a powerful instrumental titled “Interlude” that transitions nicely into 'Dissonance'. The latter is one of those tracks that’ll take a while to grow on listeners because it’s very moody and melodic. There’s definitely two sides to ‘Crimson & Stone.’ There are the rockers and there are the melodic experimental tracks. The album closes with “Hollow,” which has all of the heavy riffs and killer drum fills needed for a great song, but it escalates into a long, useless jam session that goes on for way too long.
To be fair, not a lot of bands are doing what Vermilion Whiskey are doing, so they deserve props for adding new flavours to heavy metal music. The musicianship is good and the production allows everyone to shine individually. The rockers on ‘Crimson & Stone’ are excellent, but depending on the listener, the instrumentals and more melodic pieces will take time to adjust to. Not a bad release by any means; it’s just a slowburner.
