Patriarchs In Black: Reach For The Scars

Guitarist Dan Lorenzo is a busy guy. The founding member of Hades and Non-Fiction and in recent times Vessel Of Light and Cassius King, was also a member of Type O Negative and also plies his trade with Danzig, Quiet Riot, and Silvertomb. You can also include the doom/stoner metal band Patriarchs In Black. In this review we will take a deeper dive into their debut Reach For The Scars, released in 2022.

The core of the band is Lorenzo (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Johnny Kelly (drums) with a number of invited guests including:
Rob Traynor (vocals
Dan Nastasi (vocals)
Karl Agell (vocals)
John Kosco (vocals)
Dewey Bragg (vocals)
Jimmy Gnecco (vocals)
Eric J. Morgan (bass)
Jimmy Schulman (bass)
Scott LePage (bass)
Dave Neabore (bass)

I always find it interesting when an album features a number of vocalists as it can really add diversity and unexpected turns, sometimes keeping the listener on his or her collective toes. Plus, this is my first go around with Patriarchs In Black, considering the band is only a few years old. The disc begins with "I’m The Dog� and its clean acoustic guitar intro, before the band sets fire with an intense, pounding groove and old school metal riffs. The guitar is huge and meaty and the vocals are of the perfect evil intensity, as is the excellent stick work from Kelly. John Kosco adds his varied vocal approach to the catchy “Sing For The Devil?�, perfectly capturing the song’s intensely flavoured rock and roll with blood curdling screams, low end deliveries, and robust cleans. And those guitar riffs cut through like slabs of granite. Rob Traynor sings on the massively doomy “The Submission Bell�, the guitar coming through thick and evil with that slow burn intensity. Another great vocal performance on an album of many. “Built Of Misery� is another burner, the guitar riffs are absolutely blistering with lead vocals to match. This one has that old school ‘70s metal vibe and is one of my favourites on the album. Not to be outdone, “This Damn War� features another wonderful riff and vocal, robust and heavy with its anti-war sentiment. The disc ends with an excellent rendition of Zeppelin’s “Kashmir�, capturing its true essence.

This album flat out rocks and is absolutely essential for any fan of metal and/or hard rock. Highly recommended!

An MDD Records’ release.

Track Listing:
1. I’m The Dog (3:16)
2. Sing For The Devil? (2:54)
3. The Submission Bell (4:40)
4. Built Of Misery (3:21)
5. This Damn War (3:14)
6. Mourning This Life (3:34)
7. Hate Your Life (2:40)
8. Demon Of Regret (4:18)
9. Kashmir (8:52)

Added: June 21st 2025
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 118
Language: english

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