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SoCal Metal - The Armiger

the armiger, chino hills, chino, california, ca, david willie, shay sawyer, wes bracamontes, ryan linden
The Armiger is a four-piece band from Chino Hills, CA. Manned by David Willie, Shay Sawyer, Wes Bracamontes, and Ryan Linden, The Armiger blends 90s grunge and stoner metal in a driving, powerful mix. With influences ranging from Mastodon to Alice in Chains, The Armiger is a band any fan of 90s rock, southern metal, and in-your-face riffage should start paying attention to.

The opening track on their self-titled debut, “Money Shot”, sets the tone with a 12/8 groove that just begs for a mosh pit to open up. The next track, “Sword Swallower”, is another fun song to listen to. Up-tempo and groovy, it feels like it would be at home on Mastodon’s Leviathan album. It’s a powerful track, but I need to mention that, for whatever reason, the mix on this song is louder than the rest of the album. As someone whose headphones are habitually a little too loud already, this can be a bit of a problem. This issue is accentuated as song #3, “Give me the Truth”, starts to play. It’s a great song, but it’s so quiet compared to “Sword Swallower” that it almost loses its punch. Still, “Give me the Truth” is the first track to feature guitar solos, and it only serves to accentuate the Mastodon influence that covers this album. The Armiger has clearly done their homework on these sludge greats.




For the most part, The Armiger sticks to a fairly traditional formula throughout the album. The songs are powerful, groovy, melody, and full of attitude. The vocals, shouted more than sang or screamed, are aggressive yet understandable; fans of metal who don’t care for the harsh vocals are sure to find something they enjoy. For me, some of the tracks that stand out are “When they Ride”, “Lose the Agony”, and “Would?”

To get the obvious out of the way, “Would?” is an Alice in Chains cover. While The Armiger doesn’t take much in the way of risks or artistic liberty with it, their rendition of this classic tune is spot-on. “Lose the Agony” is the longest song on the album, at over 6:30, and definitely plays up 90s influences the band espouses. The riffs are solid, while the vocals are sung rather than shouted. Alice in Chain’s influences are especially prominent here, further reinforcing The Armiger’s choice in songs to cover. “When they Ride” is fairly short, though it does everything it needs to. What stands it out from the rest of the album is the acoustic intro, an element unique to this song, which I find to be one of its greatest strengths.

All things considered, The Armiger is going to be a band to watch. While their influences are patently obvious throughout their writing, they are blended in a way that keeps the album from sounding like a cheap knockoff. Instead, The Armiger has created a solid debut that not only sets a strong tone for their career, but leaves them with plenty of room to grow and expand their sound. Aside from the mixing issues I mentioned earlier, I am quite impressed with this album, and would love the chance to see them live when the opportunity presents itself.

 Be sure to check out The Armiger at:
Facebook
Bandcamp
Reverbnation
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Location: Chino Hills, CA, USA

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