Photo Credit: Chase Stevens @csstevensphoto
Sheiks Of Neptune currently hail from the sinful city of Las Vegas, though there sound is from out of this world. I first got acquainted with the band while in Las Vegas and they were opening for Dead Kennedys. Let me tell you now that Sheiks Of Neptune’s stage performance is nothing short of jaw dropping. With Sheikenstein on vocals, Buzzed Aldrin on guitar, Val 9000 on violin, Cosmo Knotts on drums, Skeeter O’Toole on bass, and Brando Calrissian on ANOTHER guitar, things get wild with the rowdiest drunken space crew you’ll ever have a close encounter with. I know what you are thinking…violin? Val 9000 fits perfectly into this far out fold. I honestly was a little skeptical at first until I heard the chemistry within the band come alive in their music. They have a surf punk kind of sound with and rough and rowdy edge. The band recently released their new album ‘Come Drink With The Sheiks’ on May 12th. It’s 13 jet fueled tracks that rocket you through their sound.
“Brain Melt” gets your blood boiling almost immediately. The song has some of the most drastic tempo changes I’ve ever heard. Sheikenstein goes from a wild erratic screaming beast to a lounge singer with little to no speed bump in between. Cosmo Knotts keeps amazing time with his killer beats and his bass drum truly sets up each tempo change. As the song crosses the midway point you truly hear Val 9000 chime in on her violin and the guitar work by Buzzed Aldrin and Brando Carlossian truly turn into a thrashier riff. Rather than coming to an abrupt hault the song fades out into the distance like a true UFO sighting. The title track “Come Drink With The Sheiks” almost takes you back to the old west with a trumpeting intro. This track really showcases Sheikenstein higher pitched vocals. It’s what I like to call the “Sheik Shriek”. Another reason this track also works is that the chorus truly has a hook. “Girls In Space” is yet another stand out track. The riffs really take over this song, you get this constant strum during portions of the song and then this down tuned heavier riff that begs for headbanging. The lyrical content is also hilarious. “Joshua” comes across like a story telling session set to music. It tells the story of “The most fantabulous space man to ever roam the universe.” It’s set up almost like a square dancing song and Sheikenstein is calling out the next step. Like most of their songs not only the tempo but the style changes drastically going from this sci-fi square dancing to more of a hardcore or thrash sound. The Sheiks keep you on your toes constantly always changing something up. Both the album and the band have a very unique concept and it’s easy to tell the bands imagination is one of their best assets. They have an out of the box style that takes balls to create. Whatever your taste may be in music I can certainly attest that this album comes in peace and is a friendly encounter.
