Double-Wide Heavy Rock / Co. Antrim

Originally formed by the two John’s who have been friends since previously playing together in an earlier band called PHOBIA, DOUBLE WIDE are a riff heavy Southern Rock/Metal machine that have been making a racket up North since 2008. They were soon joined by Neil on bass who was invited over to “The Shed” to jam out some tracks and the trio has been together ever since. Their sound and style is heavily influenced by the whole NOLA collective of bands such as CROWBAR and particularly DOWN and CORROSION OF CONFORMITY. In fact the band name is taken from the COC track which according to the band is a tribute to one of their most important influences.

They released their debut album ’18 Wheels Of Misery’ in early 2010 which was well received with tracks getting good rotation on various stations all over the world. And in late 2011 the band were approached by Ozium Records in Sweden about the distribution of their follow-up release. So over the space of a couple of months the band set about recording their ‘Heavy Oil EP’ which was released in February 2012.

Opening track ‘Roll On’ gets the ball rolling as you would expect from a band like DOUBLE WIDE with a rock solid riff that one cannot but nod your head and tap your foot along to. However by the end of the track the groove has well and truly set in and the nod/tapping has grown into a full on headbanging/stomping affair. Quickly followed up by ‘Not Broken’ the band barely skip a beat and keep up the pace and tempo set be the previous number. A short instrumental in the form of ‘El Ultimo Paseo’ allows a brief respite before title track ‘Heavy Oil’, probably the standout from the selection on offer, kicks off with a solid riff and progresses into an excellent rocker complete with vocal and guitar melodies to create an infectious and catchy track. ‘Seven Roads To Hell’ allows the band to settle back into Blues/Rock mode which is a welcome change of pace, going  from a subtle intro to develop into a heavier variation of the same. An easy listening, middle of the road track that sets the tone nicely for the EP’s closer. ‘Dead River’ is a re-recorded acoustic version of a track from the debut album which reminds ever so slightly of PANTERA’s take on BLACK SABBATH’s off-kilter classic ‘Planet Caravan’.

Where the debut album was probably a good representation of the band in its early stages it was more than a little flawed in its delivery and production quality. Not a bad album by any means. The songs and ability are definitely evident on it, but overall it just came across as lacking. Thankfully lessons seem to have been learned and they’ve taken the better aspects of that experience and crafted a much more focused release with ‘Heavy Oil’. Work is already under way for the bands next full length release and if this one is anything to go by it will definitely worth checking out.