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Turning To Ashes

    
       
       
       
     
             
Hearts & Hand Grenades are a hard rock band from the USA founded in 2012, originally as a covers band, by guitarist Mike Bress. Mike taught martial arts at a dojo he owned and Stephanie Wlosinski, who happened to train there, overheard he had a band, so she mentioned she played bass guitar. She immediately replaced the bands original bass player and shortly thereafter, the duo added Tom Lafferty on drums, and Kenny Blesy on lead guitar. The band began performing gigs and soon became one of New York's premiere cover bands,    
             
In 2019, the band supported the Goo Goo Dolls at the annual charity event Variety Kids Telethon. The Goo Goo Dolls vocalist/bassist was so impressed by the band, he invited them to record at his GCR Studios. The band accepted his offer, but had no original songs to record. Working quickly, the band wrote enough material to record the four song E.P. 'Wait', which was released in the summer of 2019. While continuing to perform locally, the band continued writing, and also began incorporating their original material into their set list. Regular audiences started to recognise the new material and began clamouring for more. The band decided to revisit GCR Studios and record eight original songs, which would later become the bands debut album 'Turning To Ashes'.    
             
Metal meets rock in a cloud of punkish energy, as 'Turning To Ashes' gets underway with the title song, 'Turning To Ashes'. Ground shuddering riffs, powerful vocals, and energy levels that rocket off the scale, Hearts & Hand Grenades announce their arrival on the world stage in an emphatic way. At a little under forty minutes and eight songs, their debut is a little short by modern day standards, but it does have plenty of oomph to make its presence felt. 'For The Weakened' proceeds to pummel the listener with doom heavy riffs, sharp enough to cut deep, very deep, and an attitude that is very riotous. By contrast, 'Daggers' is high paced and powers through the hard rock genre like (the proverbial) bull in a china shop. All energy and oomph is dropped in favour of a mellow swagger, and we find ourselves barrelling down the power ballad highway, in a storm, through a crosswind, in the pouring rain - for 'I Hide' wants to be a ballad but there are just way too many factors keeping it from fully accomplishing its goal.    
             
The opening four songs have shown four different sides to Hearts & Hand Grenades, the band showing a diverse musical direction in their arsenal. They have come a long way since their formative years as a covers band, beginning to make a name for themselves now as an original rock band. Energy levels go sky high with the explosive 'Adrenaline' - the chugging rhythm nodding heads and tapping feet. And dare I say it - 'Adrenaline' gets damn close to party anthem status! First single from the album, is the break-up song 'Nothing Left', all about ending toxic relationships. The energy level is high, the party feel amazingly high, with Hearts & Hand Grenades sitting on a little gem that is gonna win them a vast amount of fans. In a departure from the musical direction the album has taken up to this point, 'The In Crowd' swings into blues rock territory, yet also has explosive punk fuelled chorus breaks where the pace is phenomenal and the speed breath taking. This combination of two extremely different styles is shocking, yet intriguing, a combination that shouldn't work - but somehow it does! The album is brought to a close with the heavy hitting 'My Sickness' - pounding hard with a melodic riff that plants it feet firmly in the metal genre. Hearts & Hand Grenades have surprised and shocked with their debut album - an album that'll need many listens as there's just so much on offer.    
             
Overall, metal and rock with attitude - punk attitude, giving 'Turning To Ashes' spice and bite, enticing you to listen intently.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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