The Bloody Beetroots
The Great Electronic Swindle
October 20th, 2017
Last Gang Records
10/10 rating
While I don’t often find myself slipping down the musical rabbit hole, every now and then I try to broaden my horizons with new music. With all the prefabricated ersatz rock anthems, and overtly auto-tuned pop music that is saturating the market, it’s hard to find genuine, authentic musicians that haven’t been tainted by the industry. More specifically, it’s rare to come across musicians that bend and defy what I would consider to be the main genres.
I’m kind of a music snob when it comes to bands. I know what I like, and I generally don’t deviate from that path. I’ve usually got to be forced into listening to new music. However, and I should have learned my lesson years ago, my friends rarely lead me wrong. Such is the case with The Bloody Beetroots.
The Italian electronic dance music group established in late 2006 by Robert Rifo, known professionally as Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo, but it was only recently that they came across my radar.
The band’s third album, The Great Electronic Swindle, was released on October 20 on Last Gang Records. The label, home to acts like Arkells and Death From Above, are known for backing truly unique artists that don’t necessarily fit into genre boxes, and are the perfect match for The Bloody Beetroots.
I honestly don’t recall the last time I’ve been this impressed with a band just from an initial listen to their album. Rifo has enlisted the likes of Perry Ferrell; yeah, THAT Perry Ferrell, Anders Friden of In Flames (!), the ethereal voiced Greta Svabo Bech, and British hardcore punk band Gallows to collaborate on this album. Being of the electronic dance genre, working with punk, rock, thrash and heavy metal musicians totally caught me off guard. I never would have suspected that those genres of music could be so precisely fused together into an even greater sound. Rifo can officially be added to the pantheon of artists who successfully craft their muse by fusing genres that one would normally suspect should never be mixed.
The Great Electronic Swindle, inspired by Rifo’s lifelong love of punk rock, features “My Name Is Thunder” with Australian rockers JET (marking their first recording since their hiatus over seven years ago) and the upcoming single “Nothing But Love” with Rival Sons’ Jay Buchanan. I’ve seen Buchanan’s Rival Sons twice now, and his performance is one of the gems of the album.
The Great Electronic Swindle follows 2009’s Romborama and 2013’s Hide which featured collaborations with Sir Paul McCartney, Steve Aoki, Tommy Lee, Dennis Lyxzen of Refused and guitar legend Peter Frampton. After giving a quick listen to selections from their previous releases, The Bloody Beetroots continue their musical evolution with their current release. I’m still wrapping my head around how breathtaking this album is. It’s unlike anything that I’ve ever heard before, but I imagine a sound that many other will try to emulate.
The Great Electronic Swindle
- My Name Is Thunder THE BLOODY BEETROOTS + JET
The “My Name Is Thunder” double single represents the various genres that define The Bloody Beetroots with the first version driven by heavy synths and electronic beats while the other is led by JET’s gritty guitar-driven rock and roll
- Wolfpack Ft. Maskarade
Maskerade is the project of Brandon Allen Bolmer, a renaissance man of the modern art world boasting credits as singer, composter, graphic designer and visual artist previously of Yesterdays Rising. - Nothing But Love Ft. Jay Buchanan
Jay Buchanan is the lead singer of Rival Sons, a blues rock band often compared with greats like Led Zeppelin and The Animals. - Pirates, Punks & Politics Ft. Perry Farrell
Perry Farrell is the frontman for alt. rock legends Jane’s Addiction as well as holding the title of creator of Lollapalooza. - Invisible Ft. Greta Svabo Bech
Greta Svabo Bech is a singer-songwriter who gained notoriety for her work with deadmau5 on “Raise Your Weapon” and “Chronicles of a Fallen Love” from The Bloody Beetroots Hide album. - All Black Everything Ft. Gallows
Gallows are a hardcore punk four man band from England who have had repeated chart success in their home country. - Irreversible Ft. Anders Friden
Anders Friden is the singer-songwriter frontman of the four time Swedish Grammi winning band and Metal Hammer Golden Gods winner In Flames, a melodic death metal/alt metal band with a career spanning over two decades. - Enter The Void Ft. Eric Nally
Eric Nally is known for his career with Foxy Shazam whom Alternative Press compared to Queen, My Chemical Romance and The Darkness. He’s known for his vocals featured on Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ “Downtown.” - Future Memories Ft. Crywolf
Crywolf embodies the current indie electronic tidal wave taking over the industry with a self-awareness and awareness of the music. - The Great Run Ft. Greta Svabo Bech
- Kill or Be Killed Ft. Leafar Seyer
Leafar Seyer is from Prayers, the SoCal Chicano goth group which focuses on the societal realities of growing up in the street and gang life. - Saint Bass City Rockers
- Hollywood Surf Club Ft. Mr. Talkbox
Mr. Talkbox us the stage name of Byron Manard Chambers, Bob heard Byron’s work on 24k Magic by Bruno Mars and knew he had to work with him, a passionate artist who has master urban contemporary gospel and R&B music with a balance of funk. - The Day Of The Locust
- 10,000 Prophets
- Drive Ft. Deap Vally
Deap Vally, the Los Angeles alt rock duo, have been described by the BBC as “a scuzzy White Stripes-meets Led Zeppelin” and have toured with Garbage, Muse and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. - Crash Ft. Jason Aalon Butler
Jason Aalon Butler is one of the most physical, and powerful front men in music today. He cut his teeth in Letlive and now continues to cement his reputation as a high energy live performer with his current punk rock band The Fever.