Silveroller are a UK band that we at CGCM have reviewed and even interviewed before. They are a band that impressed greatly as the live review from The Voodoo Rooms highlighted HERE. As you could probably tell from that review I was excited to see where the band would go. What I didn’t expect was 3 of the band departing, especially when they had a tour booked.
With very little time 3 new members were required to join singer Jonnie Hodson and drummer Joe Major. 2 were in place quite quickly, guitarist Joey Smith and bassist Dylan Evans. Very late in the day they found their new keys player Lucas Tadini who originates from Brazil, but on the night was very Scottish in a kilt!
The band had only 2 or 3 weekends to rehearse for the tour. Not ideal for them but they were obviously determined to do the shows and not let anyone down. The band when I saw them were on their third date in a row in Scotland. The venue is an unusual one in that most of the time it is a place local cover bands play and has free entry. The stage is quite high, but has reasonable room for bands to move around. The venue relies on passing trade so the audiences can be quite varied. Glad to say there were people in the venue specifically for Silveroller so they were cheered onto the stage. The question in my mind was how would the new look outfit compare live to the one I saw 6 months ago.
Heavy
The first thing I noticed was they seemed heavier than before, and that they had added some psychedelic vibes, especially with Lucas using a Theremin whilst going heavy on the organ. “Other Side” from the EP definitely featured more keys than previously. “Start Walking” sounded like classic Deep Purple but with added Theremin. It had a really cool and psychedelic opening and when it kicked in well it KICKED in!
I noticed that there was more movement (size of stage does help of course) and the interaction between the members seemed more noticeable than before. “Nobody’s Business” had a slower groove for the verses but a big catchy chorus. During this Jonnie took the time to introduce the new guys to us which led to Lucas giving us some funky music via his keys in a solo. Jonnie then supplied a very soulful vocal before Joey came in with a tasty guitar solo. There was even a singalong with the audience for this. One of the highlights of the set for me.
“Ways Of Saying” had as per the EP a lovely feel to it, with a soulful and plaintive vocal on the verses and a hard rocking honky-tonk feel on the choruses. This I truly believe would have done well in the charts in the 70s and early 80s when soulful bluesy hard rock was played on mainstream radio. It is a cracking track.
The band had asked fans before to pick a cover song that they should do on this tour and the winner (well the one chosen at least) turned out to be “The Weight” originally recorded by The Band back in the 60s. I have heard a few bands cover it, all from the US, so it was an unusual choice for a UK outfit. It has of course an easy chorus which folks joined in on and Silveroller played it quite straight or at least faithfully. The one added touch was the way they held a vocal note at what appeared to be the end of the song only to come back in again. I liked that.
“Trouble Follows Me” had Jonnie on harmonica and Joey on slide guitar. It had a funky backbeat yet was as bluesy as they get otherwise. There were strong backing vocals on this, both Joey and Lucas were doing backing with I think the latter providing the higher range. “Come On, Come In” from the EP came next. A lovely ballad for the most part, although the chorus has plenty of power in it.
Power
One of the benefits for the band is that some of the new guys had some songs that they could offer and we were treated to one from guitarist Joey in “Higher Power“. It seems Joey has Scottish connections and if I caught him correctly his mother is from around the Edinburgh area originally, so he was almost coming home to his roots.
The song was funky and groovy yet reminded me in large parts of 70s era Uriah Heep which is praise indeed as this reviewer grew up on that! It had phases, early doors Lucas was on tambourine before going all Ken Hensley in the heavier sections. They dropped the whole thing down for a short period for some audience participation hand clapping whilst we were hit with some delightful vocal harmonies before the main riff kicked fully back in. If this is what is to come then I am all for it. Loved this new dimension to the band to go with the blues rock.
They wrapped up the show with 3 tracks from the At Dawn EP. “Turn To Gold“, “Black Crow” and “Hold“. “Turn” was extended with longer solos than previously, guitar-wise there was a gentle old-school 70s solo and then a heavier more psychedelic one. “Crow” had an intro that made me note “Dr Who vibes if recorded by stoners”😂. The link between that and “Hold” had some psychedelia vibes going on. The latter had lots of soloing going on with each member being introduced again to the crowd.
I have mentioned some of the members a number of times but 2 members I haven’t so much and they are the ones who hold all the grooves down, laying the foundation for everything else and they are of course bassist Dylan and drummer Joe. 2 vital cogs in this rock ‘n’ roll machine.
As I noted at the start I was nervous as I already was a fan and that maybe they wouldn’t be as good as before. They smashed my anxieties to bits by being even more fun than before. The new players have added their own twists to the sound of the band enhancing the whole experience. They are still bluesy rock ‘n’ roll with some funky moments but they have added a harder rock edge along with some 60s trippy moments. Excellent stuff in what was a weird setting for an original band.
Official Bandcamp // Official Facebook
Official Site For Hand Of Glory HERE // Band Photography HERE
Check out my other articles and reviews here. Tom.
