Cast Iron Hike

The Salmon Drive (Big Wheel)
by Andrew Berenson

Fast, Melodic, Groovin’, Heavy, Bitchin’. These funky words can all be used to describe Cast Iron Hike. Hailing from the Clinton/Worcester area, these five misfits have been stirring up a buzz around Boston and elsewhere with their own brand of hardcore. They’re enough to make your average Green Day listener scorch his shorts. I mean, these guys are intense. Just one listen to The Salmon Drive will blow your mind. Songs such as “One Grand Soap Opera” and “Swimming Through Sand” show they can crunch with vicious attitude, and then switch directions to play a melodic rhythm that is almost psychedelic (not like the Grateful Dead; Hell no!). Jake Brennan, the lead vocalist, shows off his dynamic vocal ability by singing to the mood of the song; as a song gets slower, he sings in a more painful manner, as a song progresses in speed, he lets out bursts of energy that are just plain superb. Guitarists Chris Pupecki and Mike Gallagher are incredibly tight. Weaving in and out, left and right, they make each song groove with every lick of their mighty axes. Bassist Pete Degraf and drummer David Green slide in with a bobbing backbeat that is truly dazzling.

Besides putting out one hell of an EP, Cast Iron Hike are a band you cannot afford to miss live. I’ve seen these guys four or five times, and they just keep getting better. The band goes nuts on stage, moving everywhere and getting the crowd pumped. It’s weird that Cast Iron Hike are still an opening band. As you wander through the crowd at one of their shows, you see a huge number of their shirts; sometimes more than the band they are opening for. Not to mention how many times Cast Iron Hike have out-rocked and out-played the headliner. The music industry has also caught on to the Cast Iron Hike experience. Quite a few major and indie labels all seem to want a piece of the action. It seems Cast Iron Hike will be riding high in the hardcore society of America.