Maximum Metal Rating Legend

StoneWire When the Crow Flies Company: Century Media Release: 2014 Genre: Hard Rock Reviewer: Greg Watson

Top of the line bluesy rock

Hailing from the UK, Kent to be specific, StoneWire were a veritable shot in the dark for me. I liked the band name and decided to roll the dice and see what I came up with. Well, let me say that this being the band's debut EP, I am utterly and totally floored! The band sounds tight and as though they've been doing this for decades. The highlight of the album is vocalist Sky Hunter who's voice is soulful, sultry, sassy and powerful. With a sound that is a mix of Janis Joplin and Abigail Lenz from the criminally underrated Swamp Boogie Queen, Hunter shows why you shouldn't just pass on StoneWire.

And if her voice weren't enough, the musicianship on "When the Crow Flies" is top of the line bluesy rock that will have you stomping your feet and seeking out the nearest crossroads to make a deal with Satan himself. Tracks "Walk the Line", "Southern Honey" and "Vamanos" epitomize the band's sound and will reel you in like a deep sea angler hooking a mako shark. Opening track "Walk the Line" starts of like a slow moving train and then the engine roars to life when Hunter's voice kicks in and the guitars start in with a bit of The Allman Brothers Band flair. "Favourite Bitch" is just a marvelously confrontational track that dares you to look the other way while the band just lays the hammer down. "Southern Honey" has a bit of an Eagles "Life in the Fast Lane" intro before becoming a little more refined and very bluesy.

The songs just keep getting better as the album goes on. StoneWire clearly know what they want their sound to be and execute it with a surgical precision that is matched by the album's production, allowing for a crisp, clean sound that hits all the right spots in all the right ways. The bass is fattened up and so are the drums and the production just adds to the driving rhythm that guides this album from start to finish. This is definitely a band that many people would probably overlook or pass on checking out but believe me, you need to give this one a listen. With a great sound and soul for days, StoneWire are a band not to be missed.