-Greg’s Take-

I’m not sure about you, but I sure as hell remember tapes. But you know what was so great about tapes? You could put anything on tape.  Love mixes, drive mixes, radio mixes, anything. But aside from the hours spent simultaneously pressing play/record to get the precise moment the song begins, tapes threw open the doors to any and all types of music. They allowed us to share sounds we love, sometimes sounds that may be ignored by the labels. If you remember tapes, you remember that tapes weren’t just a medium, but an event that crafted unique feelings.

Up until now, aside from the occasional dive back into the Footloose soundtrack (original with Kevin Bacon kids, not that “So You Think You Can Dance In The Country” remake), I feared that feeling was lost.  With the help of Fairfield, Iowa’s own 20 Foot Forehead, I’ve realized that feeling is alive and well.

Led by Col. Jeffry Alexander, Logan Champ, Scott Simmons, Scotty Melvin and Christopher Chrisman complete 20 Foot Forehead and dish out a raw, pure rock that is sure to make believers out of the faithful and haters out of the naysayers.

Static The Airwaves isn’t the refined, over produced rock you’d find on the shelves of your local record shoppe. The nine track garage rock/metal harnesses that raw power that is ambitious enough to make you believe you’re back in the glory days of tape-rock. It isn’t pretty, it isn’t clean cut, but my god it rocks. Rough around the edges, the album reaches open with “Crown-n-Glory.” The nearly five minute track opens with a slick bass/rhythm guitar riff that draws you in, right before the distorted power rock takes off and refuses to let go. At a few points in the album, Col. Alexander’s vocals feel like they’re ever-so-slightly off from the rest of the sound, but this only adds to the authentic quality of 20 Foot Forehead. Tracks like “Shake-n-Crumble” and “New Year’s Day” settle into a much more cohesive sound; one that I imagine a young Static Kill would deliver. Throughout the album, the style is as attention grabbing as seeing a 20 Foot Forehead would be in real life.

20 Foot Forehead is unrefined, while staying tight and powerful. They’re the embodiment of that sound we only found on tape; the sound before auto-tuning and over-production. I haven’t heard honest rock like this in a long while. The levels can be slightly off, but the music is cohesive. Music fans will get this sound. People looking for Nickleback won’t. Heavy riffs and driving rock put 20 Foot Forehead on your radar and Fairfield, Iowa on your map. Either believe or get out. This is some rock!

Stay tuned, there is some more honest, fresh rock coming from these guys in the form of The Legend of Tom’s Mustache. To be released soon.