There has been a rhythmically rumbling and sonically grumbling roar on the UK rock scene for a few years now; a creative and impassioned bellow that has once again stirred up air and appetites with its latest single. That force is Patriot Rebel, a hard rock proposal equipped with the fiercest melodic seduction, thunderous riffery, and an anthemic invention which just will not take no for an answer.
The Nottingham band grew from the seeds of two friends since school, performing cover songs at open mic nights around their home city. It was 2007 when original songs began to blossom from the pair and the drawing of other musicians to the emerging project began, with Patriot Rebel the subsequent outcome. The following years saw varied members come and go until 2011 when the quintet of vocalist Paul Smith, lead guitarist Danny Marsh, rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist David Gadd, bassist Will Kirk, and drummer Aaron Grainger came together. This seemed to create a fresh and powerful spark within the Patriot Rebel character and sound, the essence which has helped make the band one of Britain‘s most exciting prospects on the heavy rock ‘n’ roll scene ever since.
The Patriot Rebel sound has equally and potently evolved over that time too. Inspirations at the beginning seem to stem from the likes of Black Stone Cherry, Velvet Revolver, Stone Temple Pilots, Alter Bridge, and Shinedown but as their releases and live fury nurtured and revealed, the band has bred a tenacious originality within their songs and imagination which just grows and infests their music with every passing year and encounter.
Patriot Rebel had already been courting online radio attention and air play, alongside an already rampant and growing fan-base, by the time they self-released their debut EP, “Two Worlds” in 2013. It was a union of six breath-taking, anthem fuelled songs providing a magnetic introduction to the band whilst bruising the senses and exhausting the body with aggressive virulence and heavyweight power. It also ignited acclaim from public and media alike; Rock Sound magazine stating, “Patriot Rebel’s “Two Worlds” sounds absolutely humongous, the musical talents and potential of this band aren’t to be overlooked” and Loud Stuff declaring “This is a band that WILL be the next band that you hear about, quite simply phenomenal. 10/10.”
Graced by tracks like ‘What Goes Around’, it alone a brawl of hungry riffs and punchy rhythms inflamed by persistently magnetic melody honed vocals, the sonically and emotionally voracious ‘Come Of Age’, and the simply imposing anthem that is Holding On, the EP showed itself to be a predator successfully merging a kind of familiarity with fresh thought and craft. As the melancholic embrace of ‘Goodbye’ and the drama drenched furnace of ‘The Storm’ proved there was no absence of rich and gripping diversity to the Patriot Rebel songwriting and creative adventure either.
Live the band has been equally as potent and successful, their reputation for delivering a truly explosive show earned as the band shared stages with the likes of Tesseract, Jettblack, Skarlett Riot, Cornerstone, Earthtone9, Spirytus, and Violet over the years, as well as undertaking their own successful tours and shows which has included selling out the legendary Rock City in Nottingham, and lighting up numerous festivals. The “Two Worlds EP” was gigged all over the UK upon its release, the band especially revelling in the opportunity a modified an old transit van gave them once converted into a makeshift tour bus, though as they admit, “sleeping in it wasn’t the best experience. It was very snug and it’s difficult to look each other in the eye after you’ve been ‘spooning’ the night before.”
August 2015, Patriot Rebel released their new single ‘Propaganda’, a thank you to their fans and bridge between the striking “Two Worlds” EP, from where the song springs, and the new material the band is currently working on. As with the rest of the EP, the raw and rousing slab of rock ‘n’ roll was recorded with producer Matt Elliss (Black Spiders, Terrorvision, Skarlett Riot), and reminded the country just how resourcefully arousing the band is and of the potential running through their veins waiting to be unleashed ahead. Talking about its recording with Ellis, the band enthused of the time in the studio, “Matt is brilliant at what he does. He doesn’t just record what we play; he actually makes suggestions and has ideas of how certain things could be done differently, “ adding “He literally does it exactly how we imagine it should sound.”
Accompanied by a striking video made by band friend Chris Clough, a film also featuring the model Katie Wainwright, ‘Propaganda’ is a raw and dynamic assault lyrically themed around people who always try to belittle others and shit stir just to cause trouble. As mentioned it is an incitement and teaser for band and their upcoming offerings with Patriot Rebel having been holed up with Matt Ellis again this past July to work on and record their next EP potentially released early 2016.
As ever tearing up venues around new creations, the band exploding into the live arena again as support to Jett Black on the 29th August as part of Degeneration fest, Patriot Rebel are beginning to build a new force of creative and impassioned pressure to breach the strongest and broadest spotlights. Fair to say anticipation for their new songs is already brewing hunger and impatience as ‘Propaganda’, announced by The Ringmaster Review as “one single for new and old fans to spend a riotous summer with”, stirs rebellion up once again Patriot Rebel style for the end of the year.
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