Rarely does a review of an album require a history lesson but this is a rare situation. You see Art Of Anarchy has become a band you should know but got lost until now. The band was first formed in 2014 by Jon and Vince Votta, John Moyer, and Bumblefoot. They in turn added Scott Weiland to the group to be their voice and help write their self titled debut album. But that’s when things turned because as the band was set to release their self titled debut in 2015, Weiland made it public that it was just a hired gig for him and he had no intention or interest to continue with the band. While the debut album was strong it never truly took off because of the statements by Weiland and his passing meant there was no chance at rebuilding.
I, as did many, thought it meant that was it for the band. That was until last summer when Art Of Anarchy announced they’d be continuing on with Scott Stapp. This had me highly optimistic and then the release of the first single “The Madness” turned my optimism into excitement.
Then in October Art Of Anarchy played their first ever show at The Gramercy Theater in NYC. I was lucky enough to hear a few demos of the album that night before the show before being completely blown away by the band live. A band that was essentially new to each other on stage playing like they’ve been together for years. Here’s some video I got from that show.
Now their story is coming to it’s next step with their sophomore album The Madness. An album bands usually dread but for Art Of Anarchy it’s not the case. There is nothing to dread from this album. There’s so much energy and power behind this album that I can’t see anyone not liking it.
Aside from the lead single they pack this album with hard hitting tracks, inspirational tracks, and even a few grooves that you might not expect. “Won’t Let You Down” is one of those groove driven tracks that have a chorus you can easily single along with but the song itself highlights Vince Votta on drums. Everyone knows the drums and base usually lead a song but both Votta and John Moyer stand out prominently on this song.
If you want hard, heavy hitting tracks that’ll make you whip out your air guitar then look no further than “Light In Me”, “Afterburn”, and “Echo Of A Scream”. These are pure blood pumping adrenaline songs with solos from Bumblefoot that just further solidify his place as one of the best guitarists in rock and metal today.
Of course Scott Stapp fits perfectly to the whole album. There is not one song where you even question or cringe. Every note is as it should be and his timing is perfect. I’d even go so far as the say he was the missing piece of Art Of Anarchy. Taking nothing away from Scott Weiland on the debut album but the more I listen to The Madness to more it feels like Stapp is meant to be the voice of Art Of Anarchy and Art Of Anarchy is the band for him.
Usually a sophomore album is a dud album for bands but that’s not the case for Art Of Anarchy. The Madness is the true introduction to this band and, mark my words, will be in everyone’s Top Album’s on 2017 at the end of the year. So join The Madness because Art Of Anarchy is going to be rocking you for years to come.
