Volcano Dogs howl on big, loud ‘Fearless Leader’ LP
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bruce Lentz is talking about the various ways you can get your hands on the new LP from his band Volcano Dogs.
“And it’s on Spotify,” he adds. “I don’t even know what that is.”
The frontman and former owner of Incredibly Strange Video recently turned 60 and is unsurprisingly partial to the vinyl version, which is ensconced in the exquisite cover art by Mike Budai.
Whether you stream, spin it and turn it into a cassette, the Pittsburgh band’s second release “Fearless Leader” is going to thoroughly rock your world for 30 minutes, especially if your tastes fall somewhere between The Stooges and AC/DC.
“I think the first one had a hint of punk rock going on,” the singer said. “I think this one is faster, leaner, meaner, desperate. No, notdesperate, but you know what I mean.”
Volcano Dogs formed in 2013 with Mr. Lentz, of horror-rock band Forbidden 5, joined by former members of Pittsburgh heavies Eviction. Guitarist Rob Tabachka, recently of Silver Tongued Devil, is still in charge of the band’s dirty, grinding riffs, but the rhythm section has since changed, with the addition of bassist Dan Ford (Fatality, Gutrench) and drummer Max Terasauro (The Cynics, Steel Miners).
“This is a band of music maniacs,” Mr. Lentz said, adding that in their extensive discussions of various types of rock, punk and metal “the one band everyone can agree on, that we all love, is AC/DC.”
There’s no stopping for ballads on the five-song EP where the message is “all hail rock ‘n’ roll.”
“Lyrically, over the years, when I was younger and used to write songs for my other bands, I always tried to incorporate my life and my thoughts and blah blah blah — with a sense of humor,” Mr. Lentz said. “Then, when I was in Forbidden 5, it was like horror-movie lyrics. This time around, with this band, I wanted to have fun-sounding rhymes, and just a little bit of a sense of humor, but it’s as big as you can get, because I’d rather have it just rock.”
“Fearless Leader” was recorded mostly live, at Plus Minus Recording with Sean Cho, withthe plan to keep it loud and simple.
“We try to make it sound as live as possible,” Mr. Lentz said. “I think the adoration of like the MC5 and the Stooges and things like that make it seem like, ‘Well, this is rock ‘n’ roll, man,’ but there’s some melody in it, I’m not screaming in your face, and you can tap your foot to it. Sometimes I hear a sameness in other bands and we try to avoid that.”
Even at practice, he said, “We’re a bunch of goofballs, man. We jump around like we’re 14. This is the first band where I’ve ever had fun at practice. We enjoy ourselves in my basement.”
And then they take it to the stage where it can be enjoyed by all ages. “I remember one time we played and this young punk rock girl came up and said, ‘You guys are so adorable.’ And I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ She was like, ‘ Well, you’re older and you’re up there and you’re just like … goin’ for it!’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, thanks.’ She was probably like a third of my age.”
That rock-for-life sensibility is addressed on the album’s opening track, “Blow it All Away,” which buzzes like a New York Dolls classic.
“It’s just my ode to being old, and I’m not gonna stop,” Mr. Lentz said. “None of us have mellowed out in our old age.”