Stone Axe Premiere “Lady Switchblade”; Stay of Execution out March 18
Stone Axe will release their new collection, Stay of Execution, through Ripple Music on March 18. It is the first full-length studio offering from the Port Orchard, Washington-based outfit since 2010’s Stone Axe II (review here), though after their second long-player, the band released a handful of splits and shorter offerings, among them joint outings with Mighty High (review here), Sun Gods in Exile (review here) and Wight. Now, the at-least-semi-revived classic rock revivalists bring together eight songs that, while it’s not quite a new album in the sense of having been newly written and recorded, is enough to live up to the name as a means of saying don’t count Stone Axe completely out yet.
The core of the project was the collaboration between Tony Reed — who, after bringing back Mos Generator circa 2012, put Stone Axe to rest following the release of their Captured Live! Roadburn Festival 2011 live album — and vocalist Dru Brinkerhoff, whose boozy, bluesy classicism is enough to make one think, “Yeah, I wanna start a band that sounds like Leaf Hound with this dude.” Brinkerhoff‘s belt-it-out sensibility comes through with familiar force and sleaze on cuts like “Fell on Deaf Ears” and “Lady Switchblade” (premiering below) on which he’s backed by Reed, where “Deep Blue” reinterprets the melody of Black Sabbath‘s “Planet Caravan” in a one-two with the especially punching “Metal Damage,” which isn’t a Judas Priest cover, but, well, probably could’ve been.
This sort of directness of influence was an essential part of Stone Axe‘s mission. They cast themselves as “’70s rock preservationists” — the band included Mike DuPont and Mykey Haslip live on bass and drums, respectively — and they were certainly that, but Stay of Execution reminds as well of the quality songwriting that was no less central to their identity as a band, even if that band in the studio was mostly Reed and Brinkerhoff. The Zeppelin-style acoustic-led “For All Who Fly” — released as a standalone single in 2010 — boasts a masterful stomp of drums to make its point, but it’s Stone Axe doing it, no less there than on the hard blues of “Sweet Sweet Time” earlier or the due swagger of the penultimate “King of Everything” that leads to the Rainbow-esque finisher “The Last Setting Sun,” grand in its scope of keys and an extended guitar solo across just under eight minutes.
That finale jam, it should be noted, has the full four-piece of Brinkerhoff, Reed, DuPont and Haslip, and it’s in a fine spot to emphasize the dynamic of Stone Axe as they were. The inevitable question to which Stay of Execution leads is, of course, whether Stone Axe will move forward from here, if this collecting of lost/rarer tracks is leading toward new material — a preface, testing the water of listener interest — or if it’s a one-off from a band and a collaboration that is decidedly done. I don’t know the answer to that. What I do know is that Stone Axe were I think even to themselves an underrated project, and where most of what they heard was the influences they were pouring into their songs, what came through to the audience was invariably more their own than they gave it credit for being. They were not a cover band, and especially as they cut out before a third full-length, it always felt like they were leaving business unfinished. If this is the finish, so be it. The title and the existence of the release at all hints otherwise.
As it’s been a decade since they were kicking around, if you don’t know Stone Axe, I’ll say flat out they were awesome. Stay of Execution is at least one more chance to appreciate that, so I’ll take it.
Enjoy “Lady Switchblade” below:
Stone Axe, “Lady Switchblade” track premiere
Stone Axe makes a triumphant return to form with the upcoming release of “Stay of Execution” – out through Ripple Music on March 18th, 2022. Here’s your first taste of the album, the single “Lady Switchblade” – listen and enjoy, and then pre-order the album at the links below!
Grab physical copies @ https://ripplemusic.bigcartel.com/products
Or get physical/digital @ https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
Born in 2007 in Port Orchard, Washington, at the hands of multi-instrumentalist Tony Reed (Mos Generator, Hot Spring Water, Big Scenic Nowhere), as soon as there was a Stone Axe, there was a reason for its being: Seventies rock preservation. Think of Cream, Free, Thin Lizzy or the earliest days of Foghat and AC/DC. Reed brings these sounds to life with vibrancy that makes the current crop of “retro” acts look silly. It’s not about fashion. It’s about the spirit of rock and roll, the spirit of creation. Stone Axe make organically grown, passionately harvested classic rock and roll.
On the new album, Tony Reed says:
“Stay of Execution is an album of unreleased recordings and tracks we like that were hidden in the grooves of vinyl that was released in very limited numbers with little or no promotion. All songs were recorded between 2008 and 2011 and cover a wide spectrum of styles in that seventies vein that we were known for. The musical concepts of proto metal, southern rock, psychedelic rock, and folk rock are well explored in this collection. Seven of the eight tracks on the album feature the usual studio collaboration of Reed / Brinkerhoff, while the last song includes all four members of the live band. I feel like these tracks are as strong as anything on our other long players. It’s great to see them finally get released.”
TRACKLIST:
1. Fell On Deaf Ears
2. Lady Switchblade
3. Sweet Sweet Time
4. Deep Blue
5. Metal Damage
6. For All Who Fly
7. King of Everything
8. The Last Setting Sun
There will be no new material or live shows in the future
Well that’s definitive. Good to know, thanks.
[…] Port Orchard’s soulful 70s rockers Stone Axe make a triumphant return on Ripple Music with their first falbum in over a decade this March 18th. »Stay Of Execution« is a collection of unreleased tracks and hidden gems, stream its first single »Lady Switchblade« now on The Obelisk! […]