More review stuff

This is from the album “One Shot” that I did with Alukard in Miami.  For more about the Alukard project you can go to itunes.apple.com/us/album/one-shot/id370076041

For more on this article you can go to miami.com/alukard-article

AluKarD

Our Band of the Hour likes to consider themselves Miami’s worst kept secret and embrace their black sheep status.

By Rayme Samuels

Coining themselves Miami’s worst kept secret, AluKarD have been doing their thing since 1998. These guys are the first to admit that they are the proverbial black sheep of the local music scene. Pride flows from the quintet when they declare that there is no one else around in Miami that sounds like them.

Members Level (rhythm guitar, vocals), Zaigone (drummer), Jason Pupo (bass), Stuntman Steve (lead guitar), and E.Grizzly (MC, synthesizer) are masters of innovation. Skating across the musical spectrum, these guys create a sound of punk and classic rock dutifully combined with bass and hip hop that inspires a deep connection with their audiences.  Deftly able to manipulate their sound through different genres, the quintet finds influence from acts like Queens of the Stone Age, Wu Tang Clan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Johnny Cash.

Taking a stance against how droves of newcomers in the industry claim to be the next big thing that will save music, and then end up producing clichéd songs, AluKarD don’t want to save music. They want music to save them. “So many people have something to say in their songs, and that’s great but we found that music should give you something to feel,” Level explained.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in their gripping tune “Forever Never,” a hard hitting track that tells a true story of a guy falling in love with a girl who is already taken. The subliminal anthem in support of a comrade’s encounter with forbidden love speaks volumes to the accessibility of the band.

Touring the east coast from Florida to New York City in 2008, AluKarD left a lasting impression at every stop along the way. For them, nothing compared to coming back home to Miami for the warm welcome. The future brings a release party at Vagabond on Thursday, Feb. 11 for their disc “One Shot” and many more opportunities to catch their live show.