The Virginmarys – King of Conflict – Review

thevirginmarys200The Virginmarys

King of Conflict (Cooking Vinyl Records)
release date: 2/14/2013
by Scott Hefflon

20 seconds into the building opener “Dead Man’s Shoes” and you know you have a rock band worth investigation. Like the first time you heard Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” (or most any song by The White Stripes), you feel the build, lean in, nod your head, and get ready for the blues explosion. This Northern-England three-piece offer garage rock vitality (they should, this is their debut) and both lyrical twists and melodic know-how far beyond their (pre-conceived) position in the rock’n’roll continuum. These guys have their craft down! Vocalist Ally Dickaty can spit out the venom as well as snarl and swagger like a rock god, and he can hold a note long and strong (probably over a non-wank guitar rip) without the frilly-shirt and dragon obsession of falsetto-addicted power metal skippies.
(www.cookingvinyl.com)