Snakehandler Church - "Top Notch Heavy Rock" album review by Alicks Wargood

    From Indiana's "City Of Churches" (Ft. Wayne) rises a band with its very own satirical jab at spreading "the good word" from all of your favorite patron saints such as Macho Man Randy Savage, "Superstar" Billy Graham, The Ultimate Warrior, and other memorable professional wrestlers of the early days. You may have seen them at The Angry Inch, The Pearl Necklace, Zero Ground Music Festival, or the absolutely astounding Dawn Theater. No matter the venue Snakehandler Church has proven to bring a captivating experience every single time.

   We reached out to Johnny Saltine & The Pepper Boys recently for permission to do a story on their latest album "Top Notch Heavy Rock" released in April 2024. TNHR was recorded in the fall of 2023 at Chipped Tooth Audio with the final touches placed by Paul Bennet and special cover art done by (Cavalcades own) Craig Horky. With every element of Snakehandler's special brand of rock & roll at the hull this has been in many folks rotation for months already. Let's see if we can get it into yours!

   Track 1, entitled "Kiss The Ring", opens in SHC general fashion with a sample from Reverend Winton Dupree, (played by Bob Odenkirk) taken from the iconic 90s skit comedy show "Mr. Show". A comical sermon laced with profanity sets the tone for the attitude always brought to the dinner table by SHC. It doesnt take long before it jumps straight into their heavy and in your face style. The lyrics are always very gritty and blasty while being quite articulated and legible even when Mr. Saltine is utilizing his scream. It's not hard to see that this song is about the desire of material things for folks that need them to fill the voids in their lives. Shortly after the 1 minute mark a guitar solo comes in. SHC has a very defined way with how they approach solos. They are usually short and sweet, not super complicated, yet always perfect for the space they are meant to fill. This one goes on underlying a couple final "it's like that" screams before the perfectly executed abrupt stop.  

   Bass player Drew Snyder (Killdozer) brings us into the next song "Hotboxing With God". With a couple of heavy punches from Matt (Ace Blade) Belcher and Pete Dio (aka Johnny Saltine) the song is off to a hard-core punk drive sure to get you moving. This song shows off one of Pete's other vocal styles. A more stoner rock tone that (when I originally found them) gave me some Clutch-esk vibes with an almost horror punk feel. The whole song has a very tried and true sound and though it plays on SHC's "safer side" it's still throwing rocks at the cars passing by. That fact is driven home by the beatdrop mid riff around the 1:40 mark. If you weren't already feeling it you will by then! A couple more punches from all 3 fellas and the song is over just as quickly as it started.

   It is no surprise that "Mother Mary Medusa" stands as the chosen single for TNHR. It is indeed a top notch heavy rock song and probably my 2nd favorite track on the album. It shows how SHC can take the traveling evangelistic style they've claimed and give it a slight twist of blasphemy. The extended instrumental intro feels like a musical fist fight culminating into one verse praising sweet Mary Madusa and then ending with a primal scream. A few more kicks and punches before knocking you out with a final blow.

   "Into The Light" is my favorite track on TNHR. After a few punches to bring it in everything drops to a gritty low tone set of jabs before finally landing an uppercut to lay the primary riff of the track. It is very reminiscent of some old Danzig and forces a sway in your step. The timing is quite unique for SHC and is sort of a nice surprise when it throws your motion off yet is easy to keep moving to. Every song by these guys gets pretty crunchy and this song is definitely no exception. Of course just when you think to yourself "we'll this is good enough" the fellas prove you wrong by changing the entire thing with a faster and stompy riff making a choreographed disaster, a welcomed spectacle closing the heavy door on "Into The Light".

   Title track "Top Notch Heavy Rock" is a short song that tilts a hat towards the 80s and 90s professional wrestling that makes up about 40% of their musical personality. Being very reminiscent of the music style from WWF/WWE video games from the time. It's simply a chanty rock & roll song meant to make you dance! Simple and to the point.

   "Slpash O Gas" shows off SHC's hard-core side. Chaotic and mercilessly in your face it feels like it's by design that it was placed in this specific spot on the album to pick up the pace from "Into The Light" and break the humor of the title track. Splash O Gas breaks away from the standard SHC format being that it has no drop out or break. Just speed and consistency through and through. Also, that it leads directly into ...

"Waffle House Intro" a silly dancy track that is simply a segway into the final track of the album. It's funny (live) when they do this song because after all the fists thrown and headbanging going on... now it's a bunch of punk metal heads dancing to an almost doo wop song about Waffle House. Gets me every time.

   The final and possibly most intriguing song on the album is named "Knife Fight at the Waffle House". With a couple of accompanying punches Killdozer, once again, gets his chance to shine on the intro before going into a very vintage sounding riff. After the first verse it will give you a (as I've described it many times) Rock Lobster feel. I know... sounds crazy. Especially for a song about a knife fight in a skeezy breakfast joint (assuming) late at night. About 2/3 into the song you will find an absolutely mad instrumental break, where Pete gets to use his guitar and pedals as an absolute playground. Along with that Mat and Drew give it the stable foundation it requires. He takes us right to the end of the song with that thus completing the experience that is "Top Notch Heavy Rock".

Opinion :
  
   This album is absolutely amazing. I'm a huge Snakehandler Church fan and always do my best to get their sermon on my area as often as I possibly can. They have an absolutely amazing show and their music reflects that fact as well. I encourage everyone to go listen to their entire discography, follow their social media pages, and go see them live. Everything about them is perfectly done. They will leave a lasting impression anywhere from a dirty garage to a performance theater... I've see it with my own eyes. Special note... Pete has a tattoo of Jesus with Ace Frehley makeup on and it's one of my favorite tattoos I've ever seen. The fact that it's super well done just adds to the comedy of it. 

- Alicks Wargood

Snakehandler Church is :
Pete (Johnny Saltine) Dio - Guitar & Vocals
Matt (Ace Blade) Belcher - Drums
Drew (Killdoder) Snyder - Bass Guitar

Booking :
cousinoftheman@gmail.con

Basic contact :
Find them on FB and IG