The Metal Files

It’s not very often that I hear/see a band that makes my jaw hit the floor and makes me want to run around and tell every person that I know to check them out.  That’s what Portland’s Danava did for me this year at the SxSW music festival.  I had never heard of this band until a few days before the festival when viewing the showcase at Valhalla that also featured Christian Mistress and Zoroaster, 2 other bands that I like a lot.  I didn’t get a chance to listen to them before the show so I went into this cold.

Dang!  These guys kicked into a 70s style jam fest that hit me right in the nuts.  When i say “jam” I don’t mean like some hippie jam band improv type of thing, this music was well-thought out riff-oriented hard rock.  I heard elements of a lot of my favorite bands like Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Hawkwind, Allman Brothers, White Witch, Thin Lizzy and even more modern 70s worship style ala Witchcraft.

One of their defining attributes is their riffing style.  Lots of movement all over the fretboard with the 2 guitarists playing some great melodies.  Add in the bassist playing the same riffs behind them and it’s pretty badass to watch and hear.  He’s really a damn fine bassist in general.  It’s great to see a band that obviously rehearses a lot.  They’ve been on the road quite a bit over the last few years as well and that has a tendency to tighten a band up as well.  Mix in the clean vocals (very early Ozzy-era Sabbath/Bobby Liebling) and you’ve got a great mix.

After their set I was looking for some merch to buy but they didn’t have it handy.  Fortunately their music is on iTunes and I downloaded their entire catalog a few hours after seeing them (3AM!).  I was happy to catch them again a few nights later for free for a quick set.  Just great.  Period.

Highly recommended!