Time to kick the tires and light the fires! Listening to a Three Thirteen album is like a trip back in the hot tub time machine. It takes you back to a time when rock ruled without the aid of iTunes. It was an era before music was illegally downloaded and it was just traded back and forth on mix tapes. It was when lighters were raised high in the air at concerts instead of cell phones and when people actually watched concerts with their eyes and not through their iPhones. Three Thirteen is raising the flag of classic rock high and waving it proudly as they celebrate its spirit on their brand new release Overdrive Alive.
It’s the follow-up to their covers EP Devil’s Music that was released in 2011. If you’re like me, you didn’t think you would see the day where a new Three Thirteen album would be released. I thought that EP was going to be the last we heard from the band since its founder Randy Weitzel joined In This Moment full-time back in 2011 and Three Thirteen was put on the back burner. Well, never say never, because miracles do happen when you least expect them to. If you’re new to the Three Thirteen game, then let me give you a quick bio on its other members, because they all belong to other groups as well. Guitarist Steve Marshall and bassist Elaina Bangma are both in Soulbleed and drummer Jimmy Schultz is also in Soulbleed as well several other bands including Sunflower Dead.
Overdrive Alive is loaded with ten new rock classics, along with six bonus jams. We’ll save the bonus jams for later, but let’s plug in 
and sample these ten new tracks. “In Heavy We Trust” kicks off this musical adventure with an infectious groove that immediately hooks you in. What a way to kick off an album, with all members firing on all cylinders! The riffs are big and the solo is face melting material, and that nasty bass line is just sick. “Welcome to Delirium” is one of my favorite tracks on the album and the cowbell on this track will cure any fever. This track feels as if it could be the soundtrack to a level on Grand Theft Auto.
“Spaced” is a song with more musical layers to it than a six year old going out in the snow to play. This song rocks with wailing guitars that remind you of the British metal invasion and then it does a 180 and gets all mellow on us. Wait! Then the metal returns and then it goes mellow again as if it’s schizophrenic and bouncing between personalities. The underlying bass line that grooves throughout the song is mighty tasty as well. To end the song, you get the relaxing sounds of waves crashing along the shore. As crazy as all of this sounds, it is actually a damn fine song. The song that gets the “I wish I could hear this one played live” award would have to be “Exo-Arachno”. This song is the musical equivalent to a rollercoaster ride because it’s fun and definitely a thrill ride. The gang chorus is something that just screams audience participation with fists clinched and raised high in the air.
Listen to THREE THIRTEEN’s “Spaced”
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As for the six bonus jams, they’re all instrumentals and they are yet another travel back in time. “Captain Amazing Man” sounds like a backing track that could easily fit into an episode of the old TV show SWAT. If that reference confuses you, feel free to Google it. “Foxy (Intro)” and “Foxy (Outro)” almost feel as if they were scored for one of Quentin Tarantino’s retro movies. These bonus jams are somewhat, pardon the word, groovy, yet manage to rock out at the same time. Although the bonus jams are cut from the same vein as the ten original tracks, they do have a different feel to them.
Overall, I think this is a very solid release and I think you’re going to love it, especially if you love to rock. This album is not meant to be played with the volume low as you light some candles and meditate. Oh HELL no! This needs to be cranked loud and allowed plenty of room for air guitar solos. You can’t resist the urge once you start listening! Overdrive Alive channels some of the gods of classic rock and just proves that this music is timeless.
Contact THREE THIRTEEN at the links below!
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