Veteran of indie/rock/punk bands Third Class Passenger and Ma-Shot-Pa, North Carolina's Davy Williamson has recently released his first solo record 'Down By The Fire'; eight tracks of classic modern rock that fans of the likes of Staind and Stone Sour should lap up. It's a powerful, great sounding record with all instruments played by Williamson himself and boasts strong, affecting songs, great playing and a superb textured production.
The EP kicks off with single 'Thin Disguise' which sets the tone of the record with its powerful guitars and lyrics of pain and anger; the lyrics throughout are full of angst and tell of betrayals of trust and toxic relationships. Another No 1 iTunes single 'Cliche' follows with its insistent riffing and groove and another soaring chorus, while 'Fault Line' continues with the excellent songwriting and playing. Following an acoustic 'Interlude' - another facet of the EP is how great the acoustic guitars sound on the record, every note picked clearly heard - the two best tracks on the EP ride in over the horizon. 'Same Place', with its changes in pace and alternate soft acoustics and grungy, powerful guitars precedes the title track, 'Down By Fire', which with its chugging, spiralling, descending chord sequence, fantastic high-flying guitar solo and crashing drums sounds very much like something Dave Grohl and co would do - no bad thing, it's an excellent track. 'Sick Thoughts' is a little more unrestrained with its double-timed drums and thrashing guitars and brings the EP - bar a cinematic-like 'Outro' track - to a thunderous close.
While playing a little 'safe' in its sounds and songs, 'Down By The Fire' is an excellent debut solo release full of great songwriting and playing, and while the experimentation can come later, this will do just fine for those of you into modern day rock. We look forward to hearing more from Davy in the months and years to come.
'Down By The Fire' is available on all the major digital sites.