Steak. Steak

In a time that we all are supposed to eat less meat, the band Steak comes with an eponymous album that does not exactly match the sign of the times. The music on 'Steak' does and does not match. Stoner rock is something from both the past and the present.

Steak is a new name on this blog, so let's introduce the band. The band is from London and formed in 2012. It consists of Chris Haley (vocals), Reece Tee (guitar), Dean Deal (drums), James Cameron (bass) and Tom Cameron (guitar and vocals). This album is the band's fourth since 2014, following Slab City (2014), No God To Save (2017), Acute Mania (2022). Having toured in the past with bands like Elder, Slomosa and Monster Magnet, the heavy rock versteher will be able to form a picture of where to place the band. For all others, heavy riffs fly around over a very solid foundation laid by the rhythm section.

For someone like me, I'm not a metal head, it becomes important that the songs contain melodies, vocal and instrumental. Steak has all that in abundance. A heavy riff is not the end point but the beginning, like in the song 'Dust'. There's is fireworks in the vocals and the guitar parts. Steak finds the balance exactly there where it is possible for me to enjoy heavier songs.

Photo: Sylvain Golvet

When in 'Two By Two' the tempo goes down, the band presents the ballad side of itself. From good and solid rock, things switch to beautiful. Chris Haley finds a voice that moves towards Fish, while the band slowly works towards a huge climax anyway, where all caution is laid aside allowing the band to explode into an orgy of sound. What 'Two By Two' shows is that Steak is more than a stoner band, it is able to compose and play a song that has a loud symphonic rock element in it. I've found myself pointing to Marillion of the the mid 1980s a few times lately and can't help to do it again here. Of course, there's more than that. QOTSA is there and much more. I'm sure you'll be able to recognise something of your personal favourites.

Another favourite song of mine is 'Luxury Junk'. Again a heavy track but with a superior melody. Haley shows us the inside of his head when things get "to heavy sometimes and I fade to black". That makes the short, angelic sounding interlude a bit ominous. Immediately, the song goes off again into noise and overdubbed guitar parts. Live this must be a highlight making a venue shake on its foundation. And then listen to 'Infinite'. The song will make you levitate. To top things off, there's some punkrock to bring it all back on earth ('Knucklehead') and slide into the final song 'Short Arms'. Another great song with its driving force and mysterious music.

'Steak' is an album that is on the edge of my tolerance level for heavy music, but remains gloriously on the right side of that thin line. From the first listening session onwards, the album kept growing on me and the end is not in sight. A welcome edition to my stoner collection 'Steak' is.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order the album here:

https://steakmusic.bandcamp.com/album/steak