Sometimes bands and/or musical collaborations come along almost unnoticed but with a musical pedigree that should be widely and universally acknowledged.
Minefield are one of those bands as their collective membership have been involved with bands featuring Slash, Myles Kennedy, Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons and more. That list of artists gives you an idea of what to expect from Minefield and they certainly do not disappoint.
What is obvious is that to work alongside artists of that pedigree you have to have musical talent and that shines through in abundance on this track. Collectively though, what this four piece have done is use those artists as inspiration and in some way a benchmark for writing their own material and in doing so they have written a fabulous arena rock track of a standard that should garner a considerable fanbase and following among the rock fraternity.
This really is a fledgling outfit as Minefield were only put together in 2020 by Brandon Fields, who is the lead guitarist in Detroit rock band Whiskey A Go Go.
He has designed it to be more of a musical collective rather than a band or solo project so it will be interesting to see if this line up that also features Todd Kerns (Slash ft Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators), Jeremy Asbrock (Ace Frehley band & Gene Simmons band) and Matt Starr (Mr Big and Ace Frehley band) continue together after this album.
“Home” is the second single from Minefield and comes hot on the heels of their debut single “Alone Together”. Due for release on the 16th November on Golden Robot Records, it was written by founder member Brandon Fields and mixed and mastered by Anthony Focx.
The delicate guitar and cymbal intro set the tone perfectly for what is a really beautiful song. The track quickly builds into a power ballad of epic proportions with Todd Kerns showing that not only is he a top notch bass player, he has an incredible set of lungs on him that are worthy of being heard on a much more regular basis.
The track really is as described in the press release, arena rock at its finest. Each and every band member has brought their own substantial piece of pie to the party and used their own influences well. Throughout the number, Kerns shows he is undoubtedly an incredibly talented singer and he is given
plenty of chances to show what a wonderful vocal style and range he has and takes every single one of them.
Behind those vocals is some stunning guitar work from Fields and Jeremy Asbrock. Throughout the track it is at worst exemplary, with solos that really capture the spirit of the song.
Nothing overly flash but wrought with feeling that completely encapsulates the feeling of the track on offer. There is something so special about listening to somebody drain that last bit of emotion from the six strings in their hands and you get that here.
You also have a rhythm section in Kerns and Matt Starr that combine so well to pack real power into the track and that truly gives it the feeling of being a monstrous number that is geared up for arena sized venues.
They know when to be subtle yet can quickly turn that gentleness into power to rapidly build momentum as the track ebbs and flows before your very eyes. The whole package together gives a four minute slab of truly wonderful rock music that should hit the spot for any discerning rock fan, just glorious in my opinion.
To pull a quote from the press release, “Home is ready-made hard-driven arena-rock and shows that Minefield are ready made for the big stage. Minefield are breathing new life into the hard rock scene and the future looks very bright indeed.
Minefield, you have heard the name, you have read the review, now check out the music. I’m off now to listen to the bands debut single “Alone Together” and wait eagerly for news of a release date for the debut album which I sincerely hope features this awesome line up
Minefield are
Todd Kerns – Vocals and Bass
Brandon Fields – Lead Guitar
Jeremy Asbrock – Guitar
Matt Star – Drums
Find Minefield online at Facebook: www.facebook.com/minefieldusa Instagram: www.instagram.com/minefieldusa/ Website: www.minefieldusa.com Record Label website: www.goldenrobotrecords.com
Review by Darren Smith for MPM
