TONS OF POWDER - To Destination

In May, 2013, we published a short piece of news revealing that Octav Casian, the former vocalist of Axident/ Accident, now sings in a new Bessarabian band. At that time, there wasn’t much information available regarding Tons of Powder and their plans for the future. With the help of many concerts that take place especially in Albion Club, Chisinau and a few in Kiev, Ukraine, alongside many rehearsal hours, Tons of Powder are trying to find the unity they need in order to become an actual band. The distance between Bucharest and Chisinau stopped me from showing up at any of their concerts, but with the aid of technological advances I managed to watch some of the band’s live footage. The first song was Stone Faced, a composition with a video shot in the rehearsal room, rudimental but satisfactory when it comes to understanding the group’s direction. In the end, what matters- or at least, what should matter- is the music, not the video. A beautiful groove metal piece with plenty of references to Pantera, but also to the southern stoner rock represented by Down. Listening to the song, it came to mind that Phil Anselmo is some sort of musical guru for Tons of Powder, but I figured I should listen to other of the band’s songs in order to get to the right conclusion and to end up with an eloquent opinion with regard to the group’s musical endeavor.

Nevertheless, this is the year 2014 and I don’t think that metal will face any considerable evolvement in the next 10 or 20 years. Sure, a new trend might come up, maybe some marketing stunts on behalf of the record labels in order to surpass the inevitable changes, but I doubt we’ll be faced with something completely unrelated to previously existing subgenres. Anyways, come what may. Let’s get back to Tons of Powder.

On the occasion of releasing this material, I got the chance of speaking with Octav Casian about what Tons of Powder means, but also about the songs on this album. Octav said in an exclusive interview for Metalfan.ro: “Tons of Powder is a resounding name and it fits our musical genre”. I couldn’t agree more. It is, if you allow it, a kind of Axident/ Accident, version 2014, but far more self-assured. Okay, the band doesn’t consist of the same people as it did in the ‘90s, there are only Octav and Iuri Sceankin from the Psychosport era (2006), but the past’s influence is still there. It’s somewhat inescapable because it’s part of Octav’s life, with reference not only to his music, but also to his life. To Destination! is a substantial album with a fresh, modern sound, with a nostalgic feel to it (Random Lies), but what makes it sound up to date the most of all is its message. Somehow, I’m thinking that these themes will not be obsolete even in 10, 15 or even 20 years from now. Social issues do not run the risk of becoming antiquated as long as mankind exists and functions the way it does today.

If a digression is allowed, another thing that I’ve especially liked is that the band has a song that shares the group’s name. It might sound weird and maybe someone’s reading these words right now and wondering: “Yeah, so?”. Well, it’s a thing that I find pretty cool. Why? In a way, it’s a statement. We’re these guys, this is our story. Off the top of my head, I can come up with a whole bunch of bands that have done this, bands like Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Angel Witch or Body Count. Of course, there are many more, but I won’t make a list just for the sake of it. I think you got my point.

I won’t analyze the album song by song either, but I must add that some of the fundamental tracks are Riot of the Pariah, Zoo Cage, Good Appetite and Random Lies.  Of course, the other ones are no less, but if you listen to this album, you’ll see that the ones I named have an extra spark to them. As a closing note, I can say that Tons of Powder reached their destination with this project. They’re a mature group that proves itself to be a musical certainty. It’s only up to the four artists to go further and reach every destination they have, as a group.

H. Nota: 8.5