The rock band Damson Blaze – meaning, Purple Flame – was formed by core members Valerie Lloyd (Lead vocals / keyboards /songwriter) and Patrick Gates (Guitar / backing vocals / songwriter), who met while playing in Valerie’s brother’s band. They formed after that project ended and completed the line-up with Roger Poole (Bass) and Roger Lee (Drums). Damson Blaze released 7 singles during 2016 and are currently working on an EP. In the meantime they have dropped a brand new single entitled, “All Locked Up Inside”. With so many hard rock bands sounding sterile and calculated, it makes the rawness, emotion and originality of this female fronted unit stand out even more.
Damson Blaze are back with even more aptitude and passion than ever before. The guitars are heavier, the bass is thumping and the drumming is impeccable. Talk about empowerment, Damson Blaze is just the band anyone needs to get their full dose of originality and rock n’ roll.
Banging, beautiful, and beyond brilliant, this group of rockers probably know exactly how to blow the roof off of any venue, kill a crowd with one look, and stop time with a single chord. All that said, Damson Blaze is something else, always creating smashing music and performing like nothing else matters.
Rock n’ roll is a lifestyle, let’s be honest. With hearts of gold and minds of steel, Damson Blaze have been a formidable group right from the start. Always having music in mind, the band formed with the ultimate goal of creating their futures.
Taking girl power to a whole never level, Valerie Lloyd sounds like she has had music running through her blood since birth. With their extreme musician mastery and insane skill to make anything sound phenomenal, this band is more impressive with each passing release.
In my honest opinion “All Locked Up Inside” is Damson Blaze’s best work yet. It takes me back to a time when the music was the driving force for artists, creating something they loved and not simply conforming to the mainstream and the expectations of the top charts.
Though to be fair this song is very relatable and catchy. The track switches between hard and heavy rock passages, to softer, melodic verses, giving listeners a break to focus on the lyrical content of the song. It is a modern translation of what made rock music of the late 70s, 80s and early 90s so great.
The song gives Valerie a place to show the range of her voice, proving she is here to stay and that she and the band can not only sing us to sleep but wake us from that slumber with a punch in the face and a broken nose. “All Locked Up Inside” kicks off with an understated intro, deep-grooving drums, and an immense, spiraling breakdown, before taking flight.
Damson Blaze pulled out all the stops and fine-tuned every aspect of their sound, from the songwriting and arrangement, to the lyrics and even the production which showcases a resonating lead guitar solo section. The track, as a whole, transports you to a different time but remains firm in the rock story that needs to be told today.
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