Grifter

OLLIE ON RIPPLE RADIO!!!

Ollie — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:49:03 +0000

Ollie recently sat in with Pope and Racer on the Ripple Radio show to discuss all things Grifter and spin some tunes.

The interview starts around 30 minutes in for about 45 minutes…happy listening!!!

http://m.blogtalkradio.com/show.aspx?userurl=the-ripple-effect&year=2012&month=02&day=09&url=the-ripple-effect&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

ANOTHER KILLER ALBUM REVIEW TURNS UP!!!

Ollie — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:36:35 +0000

Just found this awesome review of the album at Jukebox:Metal. Big thanks to Andy Lye for the kind words.

Following the mantra laid down in the title of their 2010 EP, The Simplicity of The Riff Is Key, UK stoner rockers Grifter build every one of their songs around monstrously grooving, simple riffs and smooth southern vocals. Something akin to Clutch jamming with Kim Thayil. Several songs, including opener Good Day For Bad News, Preacher And The Devil and Alabama Hotpocket and simply jammed with big riffs, and even when they go for an acoustic blues track to close with Gone Blues they can’t help but groove. Occasional references to their influences are dropped into the lyrics (for example a “yowza” at the end of Good Day For Bad News recalls Guns N’ Roses and Black Sabbath‘s Sweet Leaf is quoted during Strip Club), while obvious musical nods to Kyuss and similar are prevalent throughout. What gives the record such a impact soundwise is the flawless mix by Rich Robinson (not the Crowes one), which brings a rumbling bass and prominent drums fully up alongside the guitar, but without any one of them overpowering the other, which is something so many producers get wrong. Many of these tracks need not be taken too seriously, but that doesn’t stop Grifter from being just about the best stoner rock band in England right now, with no sign of running out of riffs yet. 4.5/5

Written by Andy Lye

http://www.jukeboxmetal.com/2011/grifter-grifter/

CHANGE OF DATE FOR ORANGE GOBLIN TOUR!

Ollie — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:49:21 +0000

We’re sorry to announce that the show at the Old Bell in Derby on the Orange Goblin tour on Monday April 9th has now been cancelled. This is in no part due to Orange Goblin or the promoter, Onslaught Promotions, but down to the venue themselves.

We are, however, extremely chuffed to announce that the tour will now roll into Newcastle-Upon-Tyne on this date at Legends. This is great news for Grifter who have been dying to play Newcastle for ages and catch up with some old friends.

Grifter album…one of the best heavy rock albums ever???

Ollie — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:06:54 +0000

Grifter may only be at number 774 but this is a list of the best heavy rock (not metal) albums of all time from Fast And Bulbous!!! Pretty chuffed to be on there with Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, Led Zeppelin, the Stooges, Van Halen…and Budgie!!!

http://www.fastnbulbous.com/best-heavy-rock.htm

Ripple Music sign new distribution deal for North America

Ollie — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:10:17 +0000

We’re very pleased to announce that our label, Ripple Music has signed a major distribution deal for North America with Nail Distribution. This means all our American brothers will be able to go to just about any record retail outlet in the States and order a copy of our album or any of Ripple Music’s other tasty releases by the likes of Stone Axe, Mos Generator, Poobah, JPT Scare Band, Iron Claw, Trucker Diablo…etc.

For more on the story check the link below

http://www.ripplemusic.blogspot.com/2012/01/ripple-music-signs-exclusive-north.html

GRIFTER MAKE THE TOP 20…AGAIN!!!

Ollie — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:12:56 +0000

Reg at the awesome Heavy Planet blogspot has included our album in his Top 20 best albums of 2011.

http://www.heavyplanet.net/2012/01/regs-top-20-albums-of-2011.html

THE LOVE KEEPS ON COMING!!!

Ollie — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:11:34 +0000

Stéphane at Temple Of Perdition blogspot has given the album an amazing review…check it out!

http://templeofperdition.blogspot.com/2012/01/enjoy-power-of-riff-with-grifter.html

THE REVIEWS KEEP ON COMING!!!

Ollie — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:07:05 +0000

Big thanks to Amusing The Amazing blogspot for yet another killer review of the album!

http://amusingtheamazing.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/grifter-grifter-album-review/

AND ANOTHER YEAR END LIST!!!

Ollie — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:02:40 +0000

Captain Beyond Zen was one of the first blogspots to give our album a killer review and now we’ve made number 15 in their top 40 albums of 2011!!!

http://captain-beyond.blogspot.com/2011/12/top-40-of-2011-11-20.html

GRIFTER MAKE THE TOP 50…NUMBER 5 WITH A BULLET!!!

Ollie — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:52:19 +0000

The recurring theme now seems to be end of year lists with our current updates so here is the lates. The guys over at Chybucca Sounds have seen fit to place our album at number 5 in their top 50 of the year.

http://www.chybuccasounds.com/

NOT QUITE A TOP 20 BUT CLOSE!!!

Ollie — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:52:34 +0000

Gary from Streaming Heathen/Grip of Delusion Radio has kindly included our album in his year end list of bands that have grabbed his attention in 2011.

http://www.steamingheathen.com/delusion/2011/12/21/bands-that-caught-my-attention-in-2011/

GRIFTER MAKE THE TOP 10!!!

Ollie — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:48:03 +0000

This seems to be becoming a bit of a running theme but we have made the Top 10!!! Big thanks to Lee at the Sleeping Shaman for including our album in his end of year top 10 albums.

http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/articles/the-shamans-top-10-albums-of-2011/

GRIFTER MAKE THE TOP 15!!!

Ollie — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:33:56 +0000

It seems the album has really struck a bit of a chord with people (excuse the pun). Sonic Abuse website has included it in their top 15 albums of 2011. A big thanks to them.

http://www.sonicabuse.com/2011/12/sonicabuses-best-records-of-2011/

New interview online

Ollie — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:31:46 +0000

Here is a new interview that was done a couple of days ago for Long Live Rock N Roll Forever Blogspot. Cheers to Boogs for the cool questions.

http://longliverocknrollforever.blogspot.com/2011/12/good-day-for-hard-rock-news-interview.html

GRIFTER HIT THE TOP 20…PART 3!!!

Ollie — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:29:08 +0000

First Bill at the Soda Shop included us in his top 20 for the year and now Jake has as well.

http://thesodashop.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/top-20-of-2011-jakes-picks/

Grifter confirmed for Desertfest Festival

Ollie — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:51:54 +0000

As some of you may have already suspected due to our support slot with Orange Goblin in April we have now been confirmed to play the inaugural Desertfest Festival which takes place at various venues in Camden, London on the weekend of April 6th, 7th and 8th 2012. This is a mammoth undertaking on the part of the guys at www.desertscene.co.uk and will be featuring a killer line-up of stoner/sludge/doom/classic rock bands from around the world such as Orange Goblin, Truckfighters, Black Pyramid, Leafhound, Gentlemans Pistols, Valiant Thorr, Rotor…etc. A similar sister festival will also be taking place in berlin later in the month.

http://www.thedesertfest.com/london/grifter-set-for-desertfest/

Grifter make the Top…er…7!!!!

Ollie — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:06:39 +0000

Our buddy Mark at the Brief History Or Metal blogspot likes our album so much he’s put it at number 4 in his top 7 albums of the year. I guess he didn’t hear much else decent to make it a top 10! Cheers Mark

http://abriefhistoryofmetal.blogspot.com/

Grifter make the top 20 Part 2!!!

Ollie — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 08:59:40 +0000

Hot on the heels of making the Soda Shop top 20 albums of 2011, JJ, head and only honcho of one of the most respected rock websites, The Obelisk, has included us in his top 20 for the year. This is awesome for Grifter and we’re very grateful for the recognition.

Check out the full top 20 below

http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2011/12/09/top20of2011/comment-page-1/#comment-134099

Grifter make the Top 20!!!

Ollie — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:20:39 +0000

Ok, maybe a bit misleading but our album has made it into the Soda Shop’s top 20 albums of 2011 at number 12…and we’re in some pretty high company like Rival Sons, Radio Moscow, Freedom Hawk and Borracho. Check out the link below to see the full 20.

http://thesodashop.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/top-20-of-2011-bills-picks/

Yet more reviews of the album come to light!!!

Ollie — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:18:18 +0000

A couple more reviews of the album have surfaced on the internet and they’re also pretty killer…this seems to be the general theme for the reviews. Have a read and enjoy.

The first is from Rocktopia webzine

“An enjoyable release for fans of classic heavy rock.

Grifter is a heavy rock band hailing from SW England that has been around since 2003.The band members share a love of 70’s classic heavy rock such as ACDC, Motorhead, Sabbath and Purple and they have toured and gigged extensively and have released three EP’s since 2005, the latest coming out in April 2010.The band consists of Ollie Stygall (vocals and guitar), Phil (bass) and Foz (drums).This self-titled release is their first full album.

The album opens with ‘Good Day For Bad News’ which is one of the highlight tracks of this release.It’s a bombastic number and immediately signals Grifter’s style and intention.The 70’s influence is clearly there for all to hear, but it has been given a stoner rock twist that carves out a pretty unique sound for the current climate.Many bands are shy or ashamed to admit to some of their influences but Grifter is proud to do so.‘Strip Club’ is another number with a thundering retro riff and pounding drum and bass all wrapped up with some rather cheeky lyrics.‘Bean’ is probably the heaviest track of the record with one almighty progression powering through the track from start to finish.Grifter closes out with ‘Gone Blues’ which being the only mellow track on the release makes a nice finisher.

This is a good debut from an up and coming band that has clearly gained plenty of experience from their earlier EPs.Although it’s very retro in its content, the stoner rock approach has combined to produce an interesting and fun sound.It’s all immensely simple yet highly effective.There’s no multi tracked guitars or endless musical additions.It feels as if the album was recorded almost live and that adds to its charm.The music is well performed and each of the three play their part in the overall sound.That same simplicity can also be said of the production.It is by no means perfect, but it sounds authentic for the music it is intended for.The bass and guitar are easily distinguishable and the drums sound clear.But whilst achieving this, neither does it sound over polished or clinical.This will almost certainly appeal to enthusiasts of that 70s styled heavy rock sound and especially those with an interest or love of the aforementioned icons.Their influence and sound is found all over this record.But it is no straight out rip off of this era as Grifter’s own twist to the proceedings should help it appeal to other genre listeners.

All in all an enjoyable release for fans of classic heavy rock, stoner rock and a unique mixture of the two, as presented here!

Dave Scott”

the second comes from Ear Candy webzine…there is no dedicated link so here’s the review…it gets 4/5 which in their rating stands for “almost perfect”

“Grifter,“Grifter” (Ripple)
Get ready for a dose of unapologetically blues-driven boogie gloriously dripping with attitude courtesy of Grifter. On their eponymous 11-track offering, this UK trio produces groove-laden tunes brimming over with soulful guitar work (“Preacher and the Devil”, “Bucktooth Woman”). Ripe with a menagerie of bad ass lyrics (“Unwelcome Guest”) and the sinewy stoner rock shuffle melding the freewheeling energy of Clutch, the cosmic crash of Nebula, and the raucous rock ‘n roll temperament of Motorhead (“Strip Club”), Grifter deliver a rebellious collection of hard rocking songs bound to shake listeners down to their core.
www.grifterrock.co.uk
Rating:

Review by Mike SOS

Ok, you’ve read the reviews…go buy the album!!!