Curtis Skelton - vocals Lisardo "Lee" Rios - guitar Danny Gill - guitar Greg Weiss - bass Charlie Waymire - drums
If citing classic influences like Sabbath and Zeppelin makes them the exception rather than the rule, then SPEAK NO EVIL are certainly no worse off for it. Of course, the band's explosive rhythmic bursts and incisive lyrics hardly make SPEAK NO EVIL a retro-metal act. They just happen to share one key trait with those bands of old "We're all players," bassist Greg Weiss bluntly states. "I have great musicians in my band," agrees frontman Curtis Skelton. "Everybody's got their own style. Together, these guys are doing some serious shit." That "serious shit" manifests itself in the pummeling assault of the band's defiant sophomore album for Abrupt/Universal Records, Welcome To The Downside. At once capturing the urgent clamor of hardcore, the potent grooves of modern metal, and the dark mystery of traditional Middle Eastern musical motifs, Welcome To The Downside is an album churning with passion and burning with rage.
Produced by Steve Dudas, the album doesn't so much defy categorization as transcend it - so much so, in fact, that Skelton would hardly see a comparison between this and the Los Angeles based band's self-titled 1999 debut.
"To me, this album is the first record," says the Texas-born singer. "Songs like 'Get It Straight,' '15 (Live My Life)' and 'Pass The Power' really define the band, and what we're heading for. We're making this band into a monster."
Both reacting to and redirecting the band's energy with his unrestrained vocal style, Skelton employs soaring melodies with guttural bellowing that commands the listener's attention. His confrontational mantras of self-reliance vividly illustrate the philosophy behind the band and its name.
Railing against hypocrisy and betrayal, SPEAK NO EVIL's lyrics take a turn for the political on songs like "Lunatic," the hidden track "Lie" (a collage of sound bytes, bombastic guitars, and Skelton's refrain of, "Don't you fucking lie to me"), and "Downside."
"The government is like a big giant club," explains Skelton of the idea behind the "Downside". "They don't dole out benefits to everybody and make it an equal society. They just help out their own, and a friend of a friend gets another friend in the door. That's the way I see it working."
Attacking the inequalities of the social class system, "Downside" is steadfast in its insistence that a blind eye not be turned on poverty. "I'm just breaking down the situation with lyrics like, 'Invitation to starvation/ I see the situation on the other side,'" Skelton says. "People won't even acknowledge that poverty exists. Even if somebody walks up to you on the side of the road, people just refuse to see it."
Although this smoldering discontent with the political machine and social structure fuels much of Welcome To The Downside, the songs are just as often born of personal experience, as on the album's first track, "15 (Live My Life)."
Though that personal experience reflects much of the same frustration that shows up in the album's more political themes, Skelton has found a productive outlet in music - and not only as a vocalist. "I play guitar, drums, and bass, as well as sing," he notes Indeed, Skelton doesn't just idly play those instruments, he's mastered them sufficiently to have written several of the album's drum parts. He also contributed some of Welcome To The Downside's heaviest riffs on "Get It Straight" and "Riddle."
That's not to say that the rest of the band doesn't have a critical role in shaping SPEAK NO EVIL's sound. The complex rhythmic changes scattered throughout the album stem from the collective experience of the band's musicians - notably Weiss and guitarist Lee Rios, who formed the band together in 1994 after moving to Los Angeles from Miami. The lineup is rounded out by guitarist Danny Gill and drummer Charlie Waymire, who replaced Chris Frazier on skins after the album was recorded.
Weiss - who for awhile had a trial-by-fire gig playing Armenian and Arabic music - is responsible for the distinctive Middle Eastern tones that show up on a pair of the album's tracks. "It's a cool contrast in sounds," he notes. "But it's only for texture."
More important than the occasional use of exotic instruments is the provocative way this music has broadened the band's approach to meat-and-potatoes rock 'n' roll. "The Eastern scales are more ominous sounding," Weiss explains. "They establish a darker theme. Sometimes we'll use them on guitar and bass to help create the ups and downs in our songs."
It's those dramatic ups and downs that propel SPEAK NO EVIL's riveting live show. "And that," says Skelton, "is ultimately the whole point."
"We love playing live, and making an impression on people," he says. "We give our energy completely to the audience, and feed on the audience giving that energy back to us."
"This is one of the only things I've done that I'm really, really proud of," Skelton concludes. "I want people to feel this album the way I feel it."
Source: http://www.davereynolds.com/artist_bios/speak_no_evil_20010709.htm
