Alternative Rockers MEDZ, Plow New Ground!

Posted By: Rick JammPosted date: March 20, 2013in: Reviews, Video Of The Week, VideosNo Comments

Stu Galvino (guitar, samples), Tommy Fitzgerard (bass guitar), and Edu Giansante (drums), makeup MEDZ, an Alternative Rock band from Dublin, Ireland. The band’s sound has influences from the 90’s and the 00’s Indie Rock, Alternative Rock and Electro. The first EP (Psycho Fever) was recorded at the end of 2011, with the previous drummer Niall McNamara and singer Al Byrne. Medz is currently working on a new album and the band is on a lookout for a full time singer.

We recently came across a couple of instrumental tracks by the band. They’re grandiose without being over-indulgent, epic without compromising focus, MEDZ have resurrected the art of prioritizing riffs and rhythm over the melody line. Behind the mixing desk, the recording displays a sonic range and tonal depth in perfect step with the broad range of the band’s capabilities. Their sound is cold-shiver inducing in its crescendos, majestic in its breakdowns, and humbling in its devastating power.

Songs like “Spiders” and “Nagazaki,” sees the band growing into a much tighter musical force, with greater focus on composition. The songs boast a feel of utter thoroughness, differing from the ones on their previous Ep, ‘Psycho Fever’. This is probably the result of not having a vocal crutch to lean on.

Tommy Fitzgerard’s bass tones have never sounded better. Rather than merely following the rhythm, he assumes a central role in pretty much every song, providing counterpoint to the guitars and drums as well as accentuating the songs’ shifting moods. When he is not actively present in a progression, he serves a heavy low-end for added tension. Edu Giansante’s beats sound tight; with some fierce rhythms and nuanced drumming he perfectly completes each arrangement.

What cannot go unmentioned is guitarist Stu Galvino’s contribution. His wide-ranging tone selections help achieve deeper atmospheres, as does his crunchy riffs and shimmering hooks draped over swirling reverbs and grinding overdrives. All which marvelously extend the scope of the band’s compositions.

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If you like bands like Pelican, you’re going to enjoy the current MEDZ guitar-based instrumental sound. They’re not as melodic, expansive, or ethereal sounding, as bands like Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, or Godspeed, preferring to dominate their listeners with raw energy and rhythm.

Overall, I really enjoyed the band’s songs because they have showed a considerable amount of growth since their last Ep and continue to evolve. I would recommend this to fans of alternative, progressive rock, and even metal. Based on the response I’ve been getting from people I know, this would probably appeal to any mainstream rock music fan who never gets to hear this kind of stuff on radio.

This is not background music. This is music to listen to. If you invest some time, you will be rewarded. MEDZ plow new ground and take you on a journey you and them, have never been on before. All while they keep searching for a new vocalist. Great stuff!