Skipping Stone - Hurricanes & Hand Grenades

Labels: Self-Released

Formats: CD/Digital

Release Date: 05 Aug 2022

Tracklist:

1. Quietus

2. Sink Or Swim

3. Hurricane

4. So Far Gone

Kentucky, USA's Skipping Stone will be playing alongside Puddle Of Mudd this Friday. Say want you want about the headline band, but that's a pretty big deal. Add to that the fact that they've also played alongside Escape The Fate, I Set My Friends On Fire and have a recommended band in the form of Cold listed at the bottom of their bandcamp page, and they've clearly got something going for them. Skipping Stone released two EPs this year, starting with Monsters Of Men in March prior to Hurricanes & Hand Grenades in August. They cover a whole musical gamut from 80s Hard Rock to metalcore and are a new name to me.

I’ll be honest, I was secretly hoping that Skipping Stone wouldn’t sound like a poor example of nu-metal and thankfully they don’t. EP opener ‘Quietus’ is clean and very uptempo, with a modern alt-rock influence and catchiness. Heavy and crunching at times, with a nod towards Billy Talent too.’Sink Or Swim’ begins with the well used (WWE entrance inducing) air raid siren intro before launching into a moody metal song that reminds me of System Of Down in places. I’m sorry for all the comparisons here, it’s not me being disrespectful to the band, it’s just what I hear.

One thing’s for sure, Skipping Stone clearly have a lot of talent. ‘Hurricane’ is a proper festival sing-along anthem with just the right amount of angst. The clean vocals throughout the song and the EP in general are brilliant, as are the rest of the band. This makes me nostalgic as a lot of the music that formed my early metal listening habits came thanks to bands like Cold, Sevendust and Soil etc. I’m not for one second saying that Skipping Stone are trying to mimic those bands, but there is that same feel when listening to them.

EP closer ‘So Far Gone’ takes Hurricanes & Hand Grenades on a final mid-paced alt-rock trip and it rounds things out perfectly, showing again the quality of the band’s song-writing. You might not find this EP to be overly original style-wise, but one things for sure, it has a lot of heart and might just be what you need to reignite your passion for those forgotten gems (and for discovering new bands like Skipping Stone too!).

You can stream 'Hurricane' and purchase EP on cd, as well as digitally below:-

Skipping Stone - https://www.facebook.com/SkippingStoneOfficial