Gun Metal Gray… The Spirit of Classic Metal with a Modern Edge By Rachel Rocks Gun Metal Gray is ready to put on a show you won’t forget. This five piece metal band from Harrisburg, PA has been melting faces and rocking area stages for almost three years and rapidly growing their fan base along the way. John O’Connor on drums, and Nick Wright, on guitar, are the original founding members of the band. They quickly found David Damone for the front man position, and even though they’ve undergone some member changes, their current line up has Christian Koch on guitar, and Myles on bass. They originally started building their fan base by being a cover band playing a lot of your favorite 80s metal music, but with the release of their first EP “Salvation” they are ready to save the world from the decaying world of pop culture music and bring back the spirit of classic metal with a modern edge. Nick Wright and Christian Koch, their two mind-blowing guitar players, are also the main writers of the band. Gun Metal Gray released their first single, “G\m/G” in 2013. It quickly became a huge crowd favorite and a sing along, or what they like to call “Gang Vocals” at every show! Ultimately “Salvation” is a collaborative effort of the whole band as each song would morph at every practice until it was complete, which didn’t take long at all. With their fans screaming for more originals at every show, they wanted to come out with some quickly, but also professionally. They started working on “Salvation” in January of 2014 at MDW Productions with the help of Darin Warren, and Mike Washkevich, who mixed and mastered the EP. With their balls to the wall, they knocked it out and had it ready to release on March 29th at their CD Release party at The Strand Capitol in York. I had the privilege to sit down with all the guys and have our own little listening party of their new EP. It was my first experience sitting down with a band and hearing them discuss the writing process and the logic behind every note. It’s quite interesting watching a band sit back and enjoying their own music without playing it at the same time, although there were plenty of “air instruments” happening around the table. “Salvation” itself was created to show people how they are prepared to bring back the “from your gut/heart ROCK music, the Spirit of classic metal, but with a modern edge”. Their first song “Doom” is a mini story in itself, portraying a post apocalyptic era. We are in a decaying world of pop culture music. Music has lost it’s artistic integrity. If you’ve never been to a Gun Metal Gray show, just by listening to “Doom” you can quickly visualize how these guys don’t just play music, they put on a show! You can see the lights, pyrotechnics, and their shredding guitars. They are definitely bringing back ultimate instrumental solos from every member of the band. “Chains That Bind” is the transcendent part of the album. It’s the stage of the journey when you finally breaking free from everything holding you back. Half way through this track there is a definite change in tempo and even the style of the song, that represents the moment of breaking free. The point when you can’t take it any longer. I can almost guarantee you that by the end of this song you’ll be chanting along, “From the chains that bind you!” “Salvation” is rising up from the ashes, or finding salvation. It immediately starts with a killer drum line from John O’ Connor on drums, that will get you rising up right there with them. The lyrics of this song leave plenty of spots where I’m sure their fans are already singing along. The end of the song
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leaves you hanging and helps you realize that this is only the beginning of the new world of music that Gun Metal Gray is bringing you. I hope you’re ready!
“...you never know who’s watching and it’s good to always put 100% into every show!” Some of you have already proved you are more than ready,
and you want more! Gun Metal Gray has performed in many different venues throughout the mid-state and beyond. They’ve even had the opportunity to play before some national acts. Their first National Act was Slaughter. They took full advantage of this opportunity and they used this night with an amazing crowd to record their first official music video for their single “G\m/G”. They have quite a few amazing videos on their Gun Metal Gray youtube channel that you can check out for yourself. They also had one of their newest fans, Merlin Miller, from the Discovery Channel show ‘Amish Mafia’, introduce them. Merlin helped draw in even more press and fans to the show. You might be wondering how did a metal band like GMG get to know a guy from the Amish
PENNSYLVANIA MUSICIAN MAGAZINE
community… One night in 2013, Gun Metal Gray was playing a show at The Ritz in New Holland. It wasn’t a great night as far as their crowd was concerned, but one thing about them is they perform their hearts out no matter if there are 50 people, or 5,000. After the show Merlin Miller and Alan Beiler from ‘Amish Mafia’ came up and introduced themselves. They wanted Gun Metal Gray to play at one of their ‘Hut Parties’. Gun Metal Gray quickly agreed and their business deal quickly turned into a friendship. Merlin and Alan have both been big supporters of Gun Metal Gray ever since. It just goes to prove you never know who’s watching and it’s good to always put 100% into every show! GMG has also opened up for Stephen Pearcy and Kix. They are getting another opportunity to play at Kix’s Album Release Party on August 16th at the Greencastle American Legion Picnic Grounds. That show is going to be epic! I’m sure Gun Metal Gray will take full advantage of every second. They have a pretty jam packed summer. They will also be opening for Skid Row at Tubby’s on July 25th. They don’t only play the “big” shows, there are plenty of other smaller shows happening too. They play a good amount of charity events. One will be Gettysburg Rocks on August 9th for the 4 Diamonds fund and August 30th for Helping Little Hands. They enjoy playing benefits, they want to make sure people know they are good guys, after all they chose to use the spelling of “Gray” with an A because A stands for America! They also take advantage of every contest they possibly can. In May of 2014 they were the Top band in the Buffalo Trace Contest, they won a $500 cash prize for having nearly 5,000 shots (or votes). The finals for that contest are in September and they could win $10,000. Get ready to vote to help them win big! They’ve been wanting to play the Philly area, so in May they went down to play a Battle of the Bands contest at The Rusty Nail in Ardmore and won! They will be playing in the finals for that in August at World Café Live. As of press time they are eagerly awaiting the news to see if they will be playing as part of the Warped Tour in Scranton on July 9th. They also have a big announcement to make very soon about a possible international tour in December! Gun Metal Gray is on fire! They have so much going on. Make sure you like them on Facebook www.facebook.com/GMGband for all of their latest updates and announcements. Gun Metal Gray wouldn’t be anything without all of the love and support they have from their family, fans, and all the other local bands and venues that have given them the opportunity to perform. A special shout out to all the wives, and Colleen and Gary Wright, for helping them get started and supporting them along the way. Also, to Silvertung from Baltimore, for their great friendship and sharing shows along the way. Last but not least, HUGE thanks to Dean Ghoweri who is a major fan and long-time friend who eventually turned into their official manager allowing Gun Metal Gray to focus all of their efforts on giving their fans their best music and best performances. One thing for sure is there is more music on its way! They are already talking about recording a full album. They said it best when they said, “The best way to pay tribute to those who paved the road before us is to pave the next section ourselves.” Don’t forget to ‘Like’ them on facebook at facebook.com/GMGband. You can also check them out on Youtube so you can see what you’ve been missing! To get them booked at your show or venue, give “The Dean” a call at 717877-4433.
July, 2014