Black Moon Goons is loud and dirty in all the right places.
Matt Carter
After playing together for more than a year now, the Saint John trio Killdevils have released their debut album, Black Moon Goons, a gritty, low-fi collection of tracks that bear a striking audio resemblance to the early days of Saint John’s underground music scene.
The band came together following a series of jam sessions featuring drummer Dave Lloyd (Rome Must Fall/OFF DUTY) and guitarist/vocalist Rudy Winsor. Bassist Andrew Earle (Hospital Grade/NFA) was later welcomed into the fold to round out the group’s line up.
“Dave is a guitar player but started playing drums and he and Rudy began jamming, playing covers of old BB King and such rock and roll,” said Earle, who had been itching to play since Hospital Grade went on hiatus. “I had been two years without a band and I was just about ready to sell my equipment and retire from music when Sean Boyer (Tasty Wangs/Hospital Grade/Reagan’s Rayguns, etc, etc.) told me I needed to play with Rudy saying he was ‘right up your rock and roll alley’. The rest is rock and roll history.”
The resulting chemistry blends the sounds of early punk with the likes on Motorhead, Black Sabbath and the like, forging a sound that draws equally from each member’s loud and obscure musical palette with a touch of humour thrown in for good measure.
“It’s a bit of old school and a bit of a mixture,” said Earle. “Three guys who listen to vastly different catalogs. Dave is pretty diverse from hip hop to grind metal Cannibal Corpse stuff and Rudy professes his love of KISS, Iggy & the Stooges, BB King, punk and rock classics. I have Zappa and The Mothers on my mind most days mixed with some doom metal, old metal, DRI ,GBH, etc. We just throw riffs around until stuff starts to stick. The agenda is pretty much not to have an agenda.”
If you haven’t caught a Killdevils show yet, the band will be announcing some late summer dates in the weeks to come.
“We’re looking to do some booking now that the album is out,” said Earle. “Things are in the works. We have a show in Saint John in August but it’s still unannounced as of yet. We’re also looking to hit Fredericton and Moncton soon.”
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