The Company Band – The Company Band

(Restricted Release, 2009)

The Company Band is a rock supergroup consisting of Neil Fallon (Clutch), James Rota (Fireball Ministry), Brad Davis (Fu Manchu), Jess Margera (CKY), and Dave Bone. That alone tells you that this album is going to be pretty darn good and it doesn’t disappoint.

Fallon, a small man with a big beard and even bigger voice, sounds aggressive and disgruntled on lead track Zombie Barricades, providing the listener with an immediate wake up call. From there the mix of Fallon’s harsh, Southern vocal styles contrast with the catchy guitar hooks and fun, Californian styles of Rota and Davis. It’s a Confusing World has a real Fu Manchu feel to it while Fallon’s lyrics about quantum mechanics for Djinn and Pentatonic are more akin to the intelligent wordplay used in many Clutch songs.

The band keeps the album fairly straightforward; Rota and Bone provide guitar licks during breaks in Fallon’s raspy vocals while Margera effortlessly bangs away on the drums throughout. Inline Six reads like a Hitcher type horror movie where a man is about to get rundown by a truck, although it all seems a little inevitable rather than scary. Who Else But Us? contains the line “defibrillate 'em, sedate 'em, then kick 'em in the nuts!” which is pretty much what this song does and CDANDW, standing for “chaos, destruction, and war” sums up how this track sounds.

Love Means Never Having to Say You’re Ugly is possibly the strongest track on the album with a lift in tempo and energy. This provides a final punch for the listener before the album concludes with a slow, grandstand finish on Lethe Waters where all members have a chance to show their wares.

It seems as if the star lineup just got together, jammed, and banged out these ten tracks for The Company Band, it sounds effortless and rocks from start to finish; heavy enough to thrash around to but also restrained enough to sit back and enjoy. Fans of any one of CKY, Fireball Ministry, or Fu Manchu would definitely get a kick out of this release with Fallon’s distinctive vocals making it most appealing to fans of Clutch.