Congrats to the winners of last week’s photo caption contest, each of whom will receive a signed copy of Hung‘s excellent debut CD Progeny. The winning captions to the photo at right are:

\m/Eluveitie\m/: Herman Li and Sam Totman doing The Electric Slide

Vinnie: New replacements for Head and David Silveria arrive at Jon Davis’ home studio for Rock on the Range rehearsals.

joe: It’s not unusual to be loved by anyone. Unless you’re from Jersey.

Jeff: Yoko and Skinny always enjoy a game of invisible wii tennis.

Adam:Sonya looks on in admiration as Johnny owns DDR while listening to Arch Enemy. With an ability like that to multi-task, she thinks “Maybe he should try out for drums in Arsis”.

This week we’ve got an awesome prize package for one lucky winner from Ireland’s dick-hardening, ball-tingling modern version of a classic hard rock band, The Answer. You might’ve seen ‘em out on tour with AC/DC, but either way, if you haven’t heard their recent full-length release or 2008 EP yet you’re seriously missing out on some great fuckin’ rock n’ roll. The prize package includes:

- Everyday Demons CD & Vinyl LP (Import)
- Never Too Late EP CD & 7″ Vinyl
- Live at Planet Rock Xmas Party, featuring Paul Rodgers (Unreleased)
- Stickers & guitar picks

Just come up with a funny caption for the below photo [sent in by long-time MS Maniac Steve M.], and it all shall be yours.

That’s the realization I had on Tuesday night at the Mercury Lounge watching Northern Ireland’s The Answer rock the house. The kind of music The Answer peddle — retrofried, bluesy, Southern hard rock reminiscent of AC/DC, Led Zep, and even early ’00s rocksters Silvertide — gets my blood pumping and gives me a giant stiffy instantly. There’s just something about lots of D, A, C and G chords that sounds fucking great together, no matter how many times you’ve heard it before and in how many different permutations. Especially when played on a Les Paul through a Marshall amp — ya know, the kind with actual real overdriven tubes, not the fake, washy digital kind. Makes me feel like I can stay out all night long drinking, doing lines and fucking bitches because it’s rock and fucking roll, dude!!! Indeed, The Answer are a tight package that rock you just the way you want to be rocked, with plenty of bravado but little pretense.

Check out the band’s brand new video for “On and On” below, which comes from their new full-length Everyday Demons (The End). I haven’t heard the full record yet, but if their recent EP Never Too Late is any indication, it’ll be as slammin’ as the band’s live set.

-VN

A whole bunch of you emailed us yesterday following my review of Northern Ireland’s meat n’ potatoes rockers The Answer; seems you all really like this kind of stuff. So hows about we take a trip in the not-so-waybackmachine to explore some jams from the likes of Year Long Disaster, Karma to Burn and The Sword?

Click to read more…

Remember Silvertide? That band was fucking awesome, and it’s a shame they disappeared after releasing only one album. Thankfully now we’ve got The Answer, a Northern Ireland quartet who, like their American predecessors in Silvertide, have barely changed a thing from the ’70s hard rock formula that had its heyday before the band members were born. On their four-song debut EP Never Too Late (The End Records) these lads rock with plenty of AC/DC meat and potatoes bombast and the melody of Led Zeppelin, mixing it with a more modern (relatively), hard-hitting, Black Crowes-y sensibility. Vocalist Cormac Neeson’s wail undeniably calls Robert Plant to mind; if Led Zep do go on to tour without Plant, they should surely give Mr. Neeson a call. Meanwhile, guitarist Paul Mahon wails like Page or Hendrix possessed — the dude can fucking PLAY — while the rhythm section of Michael Waters (Bass) and James Heatley (Drums) holds it down with plenty of energy and power.

As with most throwback bands like this you know what to expect, so there ain’t much in the way of surprises; but that’s just fine when you’re opening stadiums and arenas for AC/DC on their Black Ice tour. When these guys do finally get around to recording a full-length I imagine it’ll sound just like a longer version of this 4 song EP, and if they’re fortunate enough to get to the next one, that’ll probably sound the same too. If it ain’t broke, why bother fixing it?

-VN

(three and a half out of five horns)

[The Answer on MySpace]