CD Review: Rubicon Cross – Rubicon Cross

CD Review: Rubicon Cross – Rubicon Cross

INgrooves Records

All Access Rating: A-

Rubicon Cross - S/T 2014

Forget for a moment that CJ Snare was, and still is, the lead singer of early '90s pop-metal kingpins Firehouse. In the here and now, although Firehouse is still very much alive and well, it's the much heavier and more aggressive Rubicon Cross that demands your full and undivided attention.

A shock to a melodic hard-rock system that needed a jolt of electricity, with a surprise ending nobody will see coming and a raft of strong melodies, the metallic debut album from Rubicon Cross was designed by Snare and songwriting partner Chris Green, a shredding assassin of a guitarist who unloads a fusillade of smoking riffage and searing, armor-piercing solos from an instrument he treats as a lethal weapon. And to beef up their sound, they brought in some musical muscle in the form of Pride/Furyon bassist Simon Farmery, second guitarist Jeff Lerman and Seventh Omen drummer Robert Behnke.

Fueled by raw emotions, heated to a boil by marital discord, feelings of betrayal, sadness over the death of a beloved father and a more uplifting sense of tight brotherhood in the face of adversity, the INgrooves Records release opens its mouth and roars, its big, snaking grooves hissing and lashing out with venomous intent in the face of a powerful, three-pronged storm front of "Locked and Loaded," "Next Worst Enemy" and "Bleed With Me." 

Minus the sleaze, Rubicon Cross is like Velvet Revolver on steroids, its modern hard-rock sheen shined up by producer Rick Beato, who strengthened records by the likes of Shinedown and Fozzy. These are big, thick slabs of rock, as "You Will Remember Me" and "Kill or Be Killed" grow increasingly more tumescent and dynamic with every spin, where the affecting acoustic ballad "Shine" and the more tender, yet still fully loaded and surging with power, "Save Me Within" and "Moving On" leave Rubicon Cross beautifully exposed and vulnerable. 

Clear and distinctive, Snare's vocals are all heart, and they rise above this din. And when Rubicon Cross reveals its pop-punk surprise finale, the infectious Green Day/Blink 182-like "All the Little Things," it's evident that all involved aren't entirely bitter or angry about all they've been through, and that this band might just be their salvation. An exclusive deluxe edition of the record will be available May 19 at Best Buy, and it comes with a poster and bonus tracks. It'd be worth the investment just to see what else Rubicon Cross have up their sleeves.
– Peter Lindblad

Rubicon Cross unveil new video for 'Bleed With Me'

Shoot for the new clip was 'jinxed'

Rubicon Cross 2014

Shooting their latest video proved difficult for Rubicon Cross. The results, however, proved it was all worth it.

The majority of hard rock bands that manage to break through to the masses do so with a killer video clip. 

And Rubicon Cross has a worthy one on their hands with "Bleed with Me," off their fast-rising self-titled album, of which a "deluxe edition" will be available for purchase on May 19th exclusively through BestBuy (which comes with a poster and bonus tracks):

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/rubicon-cross-deluxe-only--best-buy-with-bonus-tracks-poster-cd/6017091.p;jsessionid=BC53FF54CE4B87FD626ED54D28C05B91.bbolsp-app01-145?id=3220147&skuId=6017091&st=rubicon

Shot in Racine, WI, the band (which is comprised of Firehouse's CJ Snare/vocals, Chris Green/lead guitars, Jeff Lerman/second guitar, Simon Farmery/bass, and Robert Behnke/drums), had this to say about the video shoot:

"I can't believe we did it! The "'Bleed with Me' video seemed jinxed at every turn. We had about five venues cancel on us before a friend [Brett Ihde - director of sales at Magnificent Events] came through with the abandoned warehouse less than two days before we started shooting. What we accomplished in 48 hours made us wonder how bands even use to spend $300,000 on a video. Thanks to friends and colleagues, we came up with a video we're incredibly proud of, and the help we received only reinforced the message of the song, when you have a band of brothers, anything is possible!"

And according to the band, other highlights of the shoot included:

--The amount of red brick dust in the factory coated every bit of our equipment.

--Behnke's drums were shot in a service elevator.

--The lighting was created by volunteers waving lights above the drums.

--Simon the bass player refused to go in a room with spiders so was shot in a hallway.

--The band shot a "Hello Cleveland" tribute to Spinal Tap that day, soon to be released.

--CJ's flight was so held up in traffic that the band had shot the drum AND bass shots already by the time he got there.

--Expecting nothing, Brett Ihde had laid on full catering including, sandwiches, cold meat buffet, chips, candy, large bottle of Jager, vodka, Jack, crate of Guinness and crate of lager (these got consumed during the process of the video).

--Band started drinking at 11am.

To see for yourself what all the buzz is about surrounding the "Bleed for Me" video, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFneEfoJbn8

And also be sure to check out the making of the "Bleed with Me" video:

http://youtu.be/YOVY3Vb64Bc