‘Meniscus’ is an easy act to follow
THERE is good reason to be hopeful about the future of Irish rock music if the forthcoming release by a band from the south east is anything to go by.
Meniscus is a band from Waterford who have just released a storming heavy rock single, ‘Follow’ which is from their forthcoming debut album.
The three-piece band is well able to kick up a storm and the debut track from the album showcases many facets of the band’s particular brand of heavy rock.
The band is composed of Bill Stuart (guitars), John Keane (bass) and Mark Stuart (drums).
‘Follow’ was written by Bill Stuart and it begins with a jangly new-wave guitar riff before a monstrously heavy rhythm kicks in which immediately invokes images of classic Voivod or Annihilator.
However, where Meniscus really come into their own, and the things that could well make them stand out from many of their hard rock contemporaries, is in the vocal and arrangement departments.
Running to 7’45”, ‘ Follow’ offers up many different moods and freely and seamlessly goes from thrash metal riffing to grunge-style harmonies with pop sensibilities thrown over the top.
The harmonies are fantastic and in general the vocals are very impressive.
If Anthrax, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden created music together, with just a hint of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, it might sound something like Meniscus.
However, the band has a very distinct and international sound all of its own.
The musicianship of the band is fabulous and there are some virtuoso moments throughout the track, including the very impressive guitar solo.
While the sound, at times, is very heavy there is wonderful clarity to the music and every nuance of the accompaniment is perfectly placed in the mix.
Before the Pandemic intervened, Meniscus were busy building a reputation for themselves as a hard-rocking trio around the Waterford area, and had become particular favourites through a series of thundering gigs at Sals Bar in their native city.
Music fans in Wexford will be familiar with Bill Stuart for his work with Wexford songwriter, Liam Merriman, in addition to being a full-time, music teacher and he also produced the album.
Bassist, John Keane cut his metal teeth with local heroes Animator, who were also known in the metal scene in Wexford while Mark Stuart is also wellknown on the south east music scene.
Commenting on the album Bill said the album explores different facets of the metal genre.
‘With the Meniscus album I wanted to explore both the outer reaches of heaviness as well as the subtler aspects of metal that are often lost behind the full-on relentlessness of the music’s image,’ he said.
‘So to my ears, the Meniscus album brings an overdue cohesive freshness to the metal scene,’ he added.
The word Meniscus has several meanings including ‘a lens that is convex on one side and concave on the other’ and that perhaps sums up the band’s music as well. At times, hard-hitting and heavy, but also soft and reflective.