Material: Sawduzt is a metal trio with solid grooves, catchy hooks and melodic lyrics. Their opener, “I’d Love to Change the World,” is a typical metal anthem with heavy riffs that lay the groundwork for good vocals and superb guitar play. “Pain n Pleasure” evokes a Van Halen-ish delivery technique that starts out on an acoustic level and quickly escalates to a full- on metal jam—all dressed up with bluesy riffs, a pounding bass drum, intricate bass runs before finally icing the song with very good vocals.
Musicianship: All the players are sound, seasoned music vets who play extremely well. Aside from starting the very first song on the wrong note, vocally, Tee played a flawless set. He “grabbed hold,” shook it off and delivered an amazing guitar solo on “Pain n Pleasure” that would make many a great guitar player say, “Hell yeah, that was badass.” From that point on the show was pretty flawless. Spangenberg and Metal Mike made up a great rhythm section holding up a nice clean canvas for Tee to draw, paint and sing on. All three are good at their crafts and their confidence showed through.
Performance: The performance was pretty good despite a crowded stage. Tee communicated with the audience a few times, asking questions and noting statements while Metal Mike twirled his sticks and pointed at the crowd in an accusatory manner as if to ask, “How was that, did you like it, want some more!?” Spangenberg was the most laidback of the three, but he grooved to all the tunes and he definitely likes to play.
Summary: “Deal With the Devil’ was by far the best song of the night and summed up what this band is all about––hard-driving, solid metal with melodic vocal hints of real deals made with the Devil himself. Although the studio version of their music is less inspiring, Sawduzt delivered a live show that would make the Prince of Darkness puff up with bona fide pride. Very likeable songs delivered with forceful musicianship evoked raised fist pumps and horns from the crowd.
Contact: [email protected]
Web: SawduztRocks.com
Players: Johnny Tee, guitar/vocals; Brian Spangenberg, bass; Metal Mike, drums
