e.t.c

One of my goals with the blog has been to try to explore bands of all genres, because of this; I was on an epic quest for a good hard rock/grunge band. Fortunately for me, the band e.t.c contacted me hoping that I would review them for my blog, and fortunately for them they were pretty good. E.t.c is another Peruvian rock band (yes, they heard about me from the band Space Bee) that have a sound I would say is most similar to Godsmack (but you can also tell they are heavily influenced by Nirvana). That being said, I am not a huge fan of hard rock/grunge music, with a few exceptions, this being one of them. They finished their first album (which is self titled) in 2008, and they are currently working on songs for their second.

They stay true to the genre, keeping it heavy, simple and rockin'. This band also comes with some pretty big honors: their hit song Bad Girl broke the top 100 songs on Ourstage.com, as well as being chosen to be the official theme song of the big Futsal (like the AFL of soccer) tournament in Peru. With such great honors, one can already assume that they must play good music that people want to hear.

The main reason this band reminds me of Godsmack is because of the lead singer. He sounds almost exactly like Sully Erna with a little Nick Hexum (of 311) mixed in. He is a good screamer as well, you can understand...well, if you can understand Spanish, what he is screaming which is impressive because usually I am left wondering and have to look up the lyrics later. The guitar, bass, and drums all work together so it is hard to comment on them individually. The lead guitar players solos are good considering the genre, but they definitely don't wow me. The bass player and the drum player hold things down really well, which keeps everything together. The overall sound of the band is what really takes the cake, each individual player comes together to create cool rhythms and makes songs feel like they are in different time signatures than they really are, which I LOVE in a song. They are really clean and their album sounds very professional, so props to their producer as well as their overall preparedness in recording.

I would like to comment on their live performances but unfortunately this is difficult because I have yet to find a true live performance online. Most of the media available to me has been highly edited so I can't really tell what kind of energy they bring to the stage. However, I have noticed that they always get a mosh pit going, which means there has to be some energy there. So I need some input from the readers and fans as to their live performances, so comment below and let me know.

So now it comes to the grade. Considering that hard rock/grunge is not my favorite genre it is amazing that I do like this band. Although, I must admit, that on the first listen I was not blown away. It took some time, but their music really grew on me. I wouldn't say they are the most talented band in the world, but they do come together to do some cool stuff with their sound which I really respect. Finally, from what I have been able to see from their live shows, they look like they are having a lot of fun on stage and really interacting with the crowd so it would most likely be an enjoyable show. Putting all of these considerations together, I would most likely give them a 7-7.5. They are on their way to be a really awesome hard rock band and if you love hard rock this band is definitely for you! For those anti-hard rock listeners, give them a chance, they can grow on you!

So check them out: http://www.etcrock.com (where you can listen to EVERY song off of their album), http://www.facebook.com/etcrock, http://www.myspace.com/etcrockperu, http://www.reverbnation.com/etcrock. Also, don't forget to like Mac's Music Blog on facebook.