On November 2nd, 2018, a new rock album graced the scene that forwarded the progression of the head-banging, mosh pit inducing hard rock that so many of us love. Those Damn Crows released their debut album Murder and the Motive. Hailing from Bridgend, South Wales, this five piece hard rock band is bringing the public a new sound that dares listeners to get up out of their seats and move. The band consists of members Shane Greenhall on vocals, Ronnie Huxford on drums, Ian 'Shiner' Thomas on guitar, Lloyd Wood on bass, and David Winchurch on guitar. Their mission statement is refreshingly to the point, they want to create great music, and tour the world to share it, and if their music continues to be as enjoyable and fun as their first album, they will surely achieve that mission.

The first song on the album starts off strong stating they just “Don’t give a damn.” With intense guitar and powerful vocals, pushing forward the notion that they don’t care what people say to them, they know who they are, what they love, and people can “say what they want to them.” This song is everything that is great about hard rock: a middle finger to the world, fantastic beat, and guitar riffs that would cause any casual listener to bob their head or get riled up at a concert. The next song on the album is “Blink of an eye” which lightens up only slightly, but maintains the hard rock essence. It talks of things being lost and let go in a blink of an eye. One could apply this to love, friendship, experiences, or anything else that seems to vanish almost instantly. The second shows that there is something more to this band than just mosh pit inducing songs, but lyrics like, “You go to hit the lows to feel the highs,” shows this band has brought great lyrics and ideas and has paired them with a kick-ass sound.

And finally, one of their songs on the album proclaims something that I have been saying for years, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Ain’t Dead,” where they talk about the music industry and how it is said “rock don’t sell anymore,” but they reject this notion with a song that would cause any music lover to be intrigued. This songs is them proclaiming that they will make the music they want, when they want, for who they want, even if it would just be for themselves, they want to make the music they love.

Currently, Those Damn Crows are touring in Northern Europe through February.