Bombing bass, rocking guitars, powerful vocals, solid songwriting and production. Is there anything the multi-talented and underrated Canadian virtuoso Todd Kerns can’t do?
Kerns, on bass and lead vocals, along with guitarist Stef Burns and drummer Will Hunt, plant an undeniable stake in the heart of the hard rock/metal landscape with their debut, self-titled album, Heroes and Monsters, recently released by Frontiers Music.
As a band, Heroes and Monsters have all the credentials to become the next supergroup in the genre. Kerns is best known for his work with Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators. Burns has lent his licks to rock icons Y&T and Alice Cooper. And Hunt, currently the drummer for Evanescence, has also pounded the skins for the likes of Black Label Society, Vince Neil and Slaughter, just to name a few.
With those resumes in their back pockets, expectations for this project by the talented power trio were sky high. And they didn’t disappoint!
Fans of the Sunset Strip sound, both circa 1988 and today, will appreciate the hard rocking, crunching grooves and catchy hooks of this new release. If the opening lick of the album’s first track, “Locked and Loaded,” doesn’t get your head banging just a bit, this album may not be for you.
Kerns’ vocal range shines on the first single, “Let’s Ride It,” highlighted by Burns’ scorching guitar solo and Hunt’s masterful timekeeping. Start here if sing-along gang vocals are your thing.
If you think the track, “Set Me Free,” sounds familiar, you’re right! Heroes and Monsters pay homage to Sweet, a band that influenced them all on a cover of the 1974 classic that both honors the integrity of the original and at the same time, has their fingerprints all over it.
Skid Row’s masterpiece, Slave to the Grind, comes to mind when listening to “I Knew You Were the Devil.” The “Bach-like” vocal, along with power chords straight out of the Whisky make this track a time machine classic.
Love it or hate it, the aura and influence of the 80s power ballad is alive and well in the closer, “And You’ll Remain.” Hard enough to rock, but gentle enough to make you sit back and think, this song has it all.
Some say that rock is dead. Others say there aren’t any new bands worth listening to these days. Kerns, Burns and Hunt categorically debunk those claims with their new band and album, Heroes and Monsters.
This rookie release is a solid effort by a band that sounds like it’s been together for decades. Complete with several rock radio-ready tunes, Heroes and Monsters hits the mark.
I’m Music Magazine Contributing Writer Steve Pawlowski
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