Tom Keifer


Circling us with a menacing scowl, invading our personal space and assaulting our ears with a sense of inescapable dread that will bleed into a rather smooth harmony sooner than we expect it to, the riffing that gives Tom Keifer’s new single and music video “All Amped Up” is the bread and butter of song’s best moments without debate. In hard rock and heavy metal, and specifically the hybrid strain Keifer manipulates into magic inside of the studio, the role of the six-string can never be understated, but here, it’s got just as potent a presence as the man of the hour himself does. 


The melodic element in the guitar parts accounts for only one-half of the contribution they give to the catharsis Keifer’s lyrics construct; without the texture the distortion produces, his vocal would never have the lubricant it needs to slide through the chorus with lightning strength. 


There are a lot of working parts to this single, and despite the popular narrative that metal acts have started to grow lazy in the wake of slow-tempo bands gaining as much steam among the underground as they have lately, a release like this goes a long ways towards contradicting that claim in a big way. 


An intentionally overindulgent oasis for stadium-shaking rock and metal fans in need of a quick fix amid the quarantine, Tom Keifer’s “All Amped Up” is a solid pick for anybody who loves heavy music. 2020 hasn’t been the best year for headbangers like myself, an even though it looks like we’re going to be waiting a bit longer for festivals and concerts to get back on their feet, the chest-pounding beats that Keifer and his band are throwing down for the world here will suffice for those of us desperate for some amplified thunder this fall. 
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Trace Whittaker
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
10/2020

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