Blood Of The Sun ~ USA ~ Fort Worth, Texas

Blood of the Sun (2004)

---Nov 2004

Blood Of The Sun is Dave Gryder’s new group, or I should say, the latest group he’s a member of. If you at all have any interest in the stoner rock genre, then this should go to the top of the list. This is a six piece with lead and rhythm guitar, bass, drums, and a dedicated vocalist who reminds me of the guy from Monster Magnet. What separates Blood Of The Sun is the heavy use of organ, clavinet, and electric piano which are all played by Dave. Every track pretty much jams, with good breaks, fuzz leads, and more ideas than what is usually found in stoner music. Definitely early 70’s influenced with a raw production that sounds modern but is clearly geared with an eye on the past. On the underrated Brainticket label (Liquid Sound Company) which is based just down the road from here (ED: When we lived in the Fort Worth area). Great stuff and highly recommended to those that have sat through too many mediocre albums from the genre.

---4/27/26

Starting off with cowbell (of course it does), the heavy fuzz guitar joins the fun, followed by Gryder's Hammond organ. Then comes the tough-guy vocals, and we have arrived into the American early 70s past that was once dominated by the likes of Grand Funk Railroad, Mountain, and Rare Earth. Though I referred Blood Of The Sun above as part of the stoner rock genre, it may be more fair to describe it as retro hard rock. It's purposely non-metal, the guitar tones belonging more to the heavy psych genre of the late 60s and early 70s.

Blood Of The Sun's debut is mostly one dimensional hard rock - high energy and heavy all the time. Though, as noted above, it does allocate for some tempo changes and a few ideas per song. Essentially the band has removed the wheat from the chaff. For hard rock aficionados, that is. 

Ownership: 

2004 Brainticket (LP). Clear vinyl. Acquired in 2004.

2004 Brainticket (CD). Booklet has a photo collage of the band performing in a curtained room that looks like it was from 1973. Imagine that? Acquired in 2004.

11//04 (review); 4/27/26 (update)
 

Burning on the Wings of Desire (2012)

Burning on the Wings of Desire is the 4th album from Fort Worth, Texas' Blood Of The Sun. The modus operandi of the band is to recreate the hard rock culture of 1974 to the smallest detail. And to that end, the band succeeds greatly. Band leader Dave Gryder is an unreconstructed 1970s fiend, and it's his Hammond Organ that's out front and center along with the raunchy hard rock (never metal) guitars. The vocals are of the "tough guy" variety and all the tracks are about a lovin' and a rockin' and good times had by all. Wide lapels and rose colored glasses - hair over the ears with a pornstache. It's Saturday night at Barney's Ballroom in Steeltown, Ohio. It's so dark, you need a miners hat to see, and you're sticking to the floors - and it's best not to know why.

Though Gryder has listed a Hohner Clavinet, Mellotron, and other fun analog toys, one only hears the organ on Burning on the Wings of Desire. Wino (yes, that Wino) sings on 'Good and Evil', an homage to the era's tendency to close an album with a more thoughtful number.

If you can't get enough of bands like Bloodrock, Grand Funk Railroad, Mountain, and other popular hard rockers from the good ole' USA, then Blood of the Sun gives you the extract version of that. Be mindful not to OD son.

The slipcase shows a naked woman on both sides (of course it does).

Ownership: 2012 Listenable (CD). Acquired in 2015.

4/18/15; 7/14/18 (review)

Also own: In Blood We Rock; Death Ride

7/14/18 (new entry)

The Underground Railroad ~ USA ~ Fort Worth, Texas

The Origin of Consciousness (2005)

---Jul 2005

An improvement on the already very good Through and Through, The Underground Railroad continues their quest to discover new sounds in an old genre. The best compliment I can pay the group, and I know they will really appreciate this, is that they really don’t sound like anyone. Sure, one can hear elements of bands such as Genesis, IQ, and Porcupine Tree, but only the parts. I used to have long running debates with keyboardist Kurt Rongey on the evolution of technology and its marriage with progressive rock. Kurt is adamant that the latest technologies should be employed in the keyboard department, so absolutely no retro mellotron here. Bill Pohl is a guitarist’s guitarist, and has more chops than most, yet his style is subtle. At times very complex, at times very melodic, The Underground Railroad has carved their own picture into the graffiti wall. Played this three times straight and each listen revealed considerably more than the last.

---12/15/25

So if you didn't get the implication above, I knew the band well, at least Kurt and Bill. Not so much as The Underground Railroad but earlier incarnations from the late 80s and early 90s, when I interacted in person with them often. We all met when I was participating on a progressive rock radio show for the NPR affiliate in Dallas (which ironically Kurt is now involved with in a much more official capacity). And we maintained a strong relationship for some years, before the usual life changes separated the communication channel.

As for the music, my review above holds court. Obviously I'm biased, though I feel my observations are objective. The music can be dense at times, not unlike Van der Graaf Generator. Which of course leads to more revelations per each listen. Bill Pohl's gliding style recalls Allan Holdsworth. A good friend of mine from high school, that I introduced to Kurt and Bill (and is also thanked in the liner notes), told me once that Bill is an incredibly talented guitarist, like none he witnessed before (they occasionally played together as well). This from a guy who criticized everybody. High praise indeed. Kurt Rongey's piano playing demonstrates his formal classical education. Incidentally he is also a DJ and Program Manager at DFW's sole Classical station WRR. I somehow missed this, but Bill is now in Thinking Plague and lives in Fort Collins, about two hours north. I should get up there for a visit.

I never corroborated this, but I'm also certain the band acquired the name from an old Rockford Files episode. We were all fans of that show, having absorbed the reruns that played constantly in the DFW area throughout the 80s. I think it was on the pilot that Jim Rockford noticed an advert in the paper to see a band called The Underground Railroad. That's awesome if it's true.

Ownership: 2005 Long, Dark Music (CD). Eight panel booklet with lyrics, recording details, artwork, and photos.

7//05 (acquired / review); 12/15/25 (update)

Also own and need to review Through and Through.

12/15/25 (new entry)

Aurora ~ USA ~ Dallas, Texas

Aurora (1977 / 1999)

Aurora were from my old hometown of Dallas, and were a fusion band containing violin, guitar, and keyboards leading a traditional rhythm section. With that kind of lineup, want to take a crack at who they were emulating? Yep. Mahavishnu Orchestra. And with violin being the primary over the guitar, you can throw in Jean-Luc Ponty for good measure. And they do cover one track from him, while the other nine compositions are original. Apparently they were to reform when this CD was released, but not much came of it.

In reading the liner notes, some of my earliest music memories were brought to the fore. 1977 is when I really got into FM radio in earnest, and as mentioned here in a couple of places, KZEW was the leader for Album Rock. Therefore, it's no surprise to learn that most of this album is made up of a live recording arranged by the station. The first three tracks are studio recordings, though no better in sound quality honestly. In any case I was still a few years from knowing anything about jazz fusion, and didn't recognize the name Aurora when this CD first arrived onto the collecting scene. Grabbed it not long after release, filed it, and here we are some 25 years later for my first revisit. It certainly deserves more frequency than that.

Drummer Martin Metzgar is more known as Martin McCall. He was the drummer in Hands (later era) along with many other local bands and percussion ensembles. Of personal interest, he was also a guest at our house about 20 years ago after seeing one of his performances with a fellow friend.

Ownership: 1999 Shroom (CD). Contains a full history, photos, and newspaper clippings.

2000 (first listen); 1/20/25 (review / new entry)

Master Cylinder ~ USA ~ Fort Worth, Texas

Elsewhere (1981)

Not much is known about this Fort Worth based jazz rock group (even though they're from my neck of the woods, their album wasn't exactly a staple of local jazz or rock radio). On the usually soulless Inner City label, Master Cylinder was anything but that. Their album has a strong melodic sense, and it seems the group must have been informed by the Canterbury groups like early Soft Machine or National Health, as well as the DC based Happy the Man. While ostensibly a jazz album, it's these rock elements that bring Master Cylinder to the next level. A very good album that time has forgot.

Ownership: 1981 Inner City (LP). Acquired in 2012.

Not reissued as of 6/21/26.

2008 (review); 2012

9/30/17 (new entry)

Shotgun ~ USA ~ Dallas, Texas

Dallasian Rock (1974;1976 / 2014)

This one's a bit out of range for the usual UMR fare, but since I grew up in the city of Dallas, I have a fondness for items like this.

Dallasian Rock is straight up good times hard rock and roll. Guitar based rock for the Wet T-shirt Night crowd. Nothing artsy here - just a band that gave you an honest dollar's worth of original rockin' tunes to go with your 50 cent draft of Lone Star or Pearl (Shiner? How 80s). I cut my teeth on KZEW as a pre-teen, and this is the kind of music they'd play often after bedtime. That I captured on my Radio Shack transistor under my pillow (shhh! - don't tell Mom).

And 22 tracks here of rockin' fun. Yes - of course - there's cowbell. Good times indeed.

The main section of the CD is dedicated to studio and live recordings from 1976, with some demos dating back to 1974. There are no recordings from 1975 oddly enough. 

Ownership: 2014 Shroom Angel (CD). Digipak. Booklet with historical notes, and a montage of photos. If interested in the LP, then you will receive the first 11 tracks of the CD (all from 1976).

1/4/15 (review / new entry)

Hands ~ USA ~ Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas

Hands (1977 - 1980 / 1996)

Hands is the album that pretty much started it all for Shroom. I'll never forget when I first heard this CD. I fell off my chair, perhaps literally. The fact that Hands were from Farmers Branch*, Texas was surreal for me. Your humble author grew up and went to school all of about 2 minutes from the suburb, in Northwest Dallas. Anyone who is from the area, will remember the landscape well - with KZEW and KDFW 102 (pre-Q102) leading the way in FM radio. The years of 1977-1981 is where I cut my teeth on rock music - loyally listening to Randy Davis on weeknights, calling (bugging?) him many nights, and this incredible man taking my calls, and sometimes saying "hold on dude - let me put on a longer song and we'll talk". I mean, seriously, I was a 15 year old heavy metal punk with a thirst for knowledge and this radio professional would give ME the time? Wow. And he told me where I could find rare records and the like. That folks, is inspiring - even as I reflect over 40 years later. No rose colored glasses either - straight fact.

And so with my Sanyo all-in-one stereo, I would religiously pop in the cassette, and record KZEW's album of the night - which included everything from mainstreamers like Rush and Pink Floyd to AOR's groups such as Airborne (heard of them, have you?). Endless radio ads summoned you to wet T-shirt night at some local Dallas dive rock club (Ritz Theater, The Electric Ballroom, The Paladium, Agora Ballroom) with enticing band names, all long forgotten. But for certain, Hands was not among them. Can we go back to 1978? I want a do over.

Let's talk Hands for a brief moment. Yes, Gentle Giant, Renaissance, Genesis, ELP and every other mainstream progressive rock band will instantly come to mind. Guitar, violin, flute, keyboards, bass, and drums. The music at times is surprisingly delicate and sophisticated. It's not a conclusion one would normally come about considering 1970s Texan culture. But of course that's a caricature - and these guys actually lived there, as did I. Like most of America, DFW was very diverse by then.

A strikingly great piece of American progressive rock, that had no chance at major label attention. By 1980 The Police, Asia, The Buggles, Loverboy, and Journey ruled the airwaves. That's what the labels and fans wanted to hear. Complex progressive rock was out. The New Wave and what we then called "corporate rock" were in. MTV was here to stay.

* So why does the name Farmers Branch mean anything to you? Perhaps you'll recall one of the earliest white rappers claiming he went to some "tough school in the projects". That was Vanilla Ice. And he went to Farmers Branch / Carrollton R.L. Turner High School (didn't even graduate). No street cred in that I'm afraid.

And while on the personal topic, my good friend Dave, who was then starting a band called Storm at Sunrise - asked me my opinion on a guitarist he should choose - someone who could play both hard rock and progressive. I thought of Ernie Myers of Hands immediately - plus he was local to the area. Dave contacted him, and the rest is history.

Ownership: 1996 Shroom (CD). Chock full of interesting history.

1997 (acquired); 9/26/11 (review / new entry)