Band conjures party at tattoo parlor to release Witches CD

Heavy rock, frosty drinks and hot dogs on the grill at a tattoo parlor in North Little Rock? Must be an Iron Tongue record release show.

The band will be celebrating the release of its new, hard-rocking, five-song EP Witches. Asheville, N.C., group Bask will also play.

"It's a lot different" from the band's debut, The Dogs Have Barked, the Birds Have Flown, says singer Christopher Terry, who also sings for metal legends Rwake. "The songs were bigger [on the first album]. Now the songs are shorter and it's a lot more hard rock."

Along with Terry, the rest of Iron Tongue includes guitarist Mark Chiaro, bassist Andy Warr, drummer Stan James, guitarist Scott Diffee and vocalist Stephanie Smittle. Former member Jason Tedford, who played guitar on the album, produced.

Witches boasts a sludgy, thundering '70s hard rock vibe -- a little Sabbath here, some Thin Lizzy there -- and excels especially when Terry's raspy, workingman's bark is backed with Smittle's soaring vocals. Todd Beene, who has played with Lucero and Glossary, adds a ferocious pedal steel guitar to the song "Starless," which starts slowly and swells into a crunchy jam.

Opening track "Lose Yourselves Away" is an ode to perseverance with a rumbling swing and a plodding (in a good way) bridge; "The Giant" opens with a riff that could have come straight from vintage Tony Iommi while Terry sings of witches and the giant of the title that's running amok. "Stones & Chains" has a bell-bottoms-and-cold-beer thump, while the record closes perfectly with the grinding, stoner rock of "Devil's Friend."

Instead of a typical release show at a club, Terry, a longtime local promoter, said having the gig at The Parlor just feels right.

"Monday shows are kind of weird, so we wanted to make this special," he says. "The Parlor is nice. They do all kinds of stuff out there and we knew we could get away with having a fun show there."

CDs of Witches, with cover art by 2016 National Book Award nominee Nate Powell, the North Little Rock-born artist behind the graphic novel series March, will be for sale at the show.

Style on 11/13/2016