Venrez: Children of the Drones review

What do you get when you cross Nirvana, The Doors, Alice In Chains, and a former movie producer, Steven Berez? The correct answer is Venrez. Formed in 2011, the band has pushed out their third studio album, Children of the Drones, and set a new precedence for themselves in an album that balls up many facets of the rock spectrum to bring a new genre to the forefront as displayed on the groups Facebook page, Epic Alternative Rock. The band, coming off touring with the likes of Alice Cooper, Buckcherry, Slash, and Hardcore Superstar, can add another notch to their belts. The first single released off the album, “Hang the Predator,” pulls you in with a small chant of “we must remember” coupled perfectly with a small electronic crescendo. With a grunge-styled guitar riff in the background, one that’s so solid that it can only help to compound the lyrical elegance over and over again of what the album is all about, “we must unite to hang the predator.” This is an album that is centered around a single predator, that of the government. The band\’s smooth, pacifying, unpretentious guitar riffs found throughout the album, mainly come to the forefront in songs like “Mist of Mercy” and “Reflection,” where they also mix flawlessly with lead singer Venrez’ voice. This unique album will leave the listener entrenched in a trance begging for more of the groups laid back, psychedelic style. The album closes out with the most distinctive and captivating song on the album with “Sacred Blood,” a song that utilizes the guitar in a completely different manner than most rock songs and puts the drummer Ed Davis in the driver’s seat to show off his skills. With a tribal ritual beat coming from the drums and the precise shaking of a tambourine in the lead this song helps the album conclude perfectly. If you’ve been a Venrez fan since day one this album will not come as a surprise on how “epic” this album and band really is. But if you are listening to Children of the Drones or to Venrez for the first time there will always be a second, third, or fourth time listening to it guaranteed. 9/10 -Luke Ballengee