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I got friended on MySpace this evening by Californian rock/metal band 1RKO. I was impressed with their latest release One More Time, so I listened a bit more. Now it’s time to tell you a bit about them…

The group consists of vocalist/guitarist Simon Daniels, co-founder Bryan Spang on bass, guitarist Derek Stephens and Rich Sacco on drums.

The name 1RKO comes from the notion and the mission of re-creating the original larger than life experience that rock n roll is supposed to bring,an explosion of strength,and emotion.When asked to describe their approach to their work,they see it as a process of discovery,where you are naked,authentic,ignore trends and take the bull by the horns.

While their approach to metal isn’t exactly mould-breaking, the group are heavy hitters. They replicate that smoothly distorted, melodic rock sound that I loved as a teenager and still do today.

Listening to One More Time on their MySpace page, I found traces of Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger in Simon Daniels’ vocals, especially in the chorus sections. It’s good to hear this kind of rock again, and the guitar solo brought back my desire to own a pair of leather trousers and some cowboy boots….

Also recommended on 1RKO’s MySpace page is their cover of AC/DC’s Hell’s Bells. It’s an interesting version - they begin the song with an Eastern-sounding guitar intro, not sure if it’s drone notes on a guitar or an actual sitar, but it makes you sit up and listen. As the band builds up to the first verse, a wave of distortion joins the ’sitar sound’. Very brave of the group to take on an AC/DC classic, but they do a great job, even if the drums could have been a bit louder in the mix (IMHO).

1RKO are definitely worth a listen for the metallers among us. Check out their MySpace page for more songs and information.