LA Music Blog Top 10

by Cristina Massei

Glitzine

The second that vocalist Sal Scoca opens that delectable mouth your ears are immediately hijacked on what promises to be a smooth and satisfying ride. Commanding your attention with a bevy of guitar solos compliments of Mr. Scoca and Joe Salvatore, smoldering vocals, funk-inspired basslines (thank you, Angelo Fariello), and ever enthusiastic drum beats from Mike Bambace. Sweet Cyanide has managed to do something that so many blossoming bands have been unable to do, which is especially impressive since their birth was a mere SIX MONTHS ago: they have created a delicious little slice of newness sans the typical one-hit-wonder most artists rely on.

From the first track, “Crash Theory,” clear through to the brilliant and haunting closer, ”When We Were Young,” the band grabs hold and delivers. It’s hard to ignore the urge to get up and dance and play your air guitar and maybe even pump your fist during the SugarCult-esque moments, especially on my personal favorite, “Heartbreaker.” The bastard love child of two respected bands in the NYC scene, Crashbox and Moment Theory, Sweet Cyanide has definitely won the respect and admiration of their peers, and after listening to this ever impressive self-titled debut it’s easy to see why! This album is pure gold and no filler and a very much needed breath of fun fresh air. So grab your significant other and go give these brilliant boys a listen. You will not be disappointed.

LA Music Blog

‘American Me’ smells of early Marilyn Manson, and ‘Certain Shadows on the Wall’ has absolutely nothing similar with the first four tracks but it’s an amazing ballad in my opinion, a bit old fashioned but it works.

I just realised the track list is divided in a Side 1 and a Side 2, which doesn’t make much sense on a CD but it reminds me of old vinyl and tapes and I quite like that idea. Talking about the artwork: two capsules in the front (cyanide I guess?), white background, black/red characters, basically quite plain on the front cover but inside is A LOT different; tits, bums, tongues, pictures from some adult magazine all of which would make Buckcherry proud and I have to say that I like it! And I like the logo. A black / red broken heart with a white skull and white initials. Some logos just tell you what you’re going to listen to, and this is one of them.

Side Two of the self titled album opens with ‘Heartbreaker’ which is a good rock song. It is a bit dated but very enjoyable none the less. ‘I wish U would’ follows which is one of my favourite tracks on the album, absolutely unoriginal but extremely catchy and a definite feel good song; back to a slightly darker atmosphere with ‘Under the Sun’ and a romantic acoustic final track in ‘When we were young’.Overall, all the songs on this debut self titled album by Sweet Cyanide are quite pleasant; once you get to the end and listen again to the opener ‘Crash Theory’ you get the feeling that Sweet Cyanide don’t deliver exactly what they promise with that first track. These New Yorkers have absorbed many different influences and are not afraid of putting them all out there, they’re not looking for a label but rather for a voice.

New York gives us another product of its edgy multifaceted culture with this Sweet Cyanide self-titled debut and it sounds just like you would expect it to. An electric, sweaty live show is to be expected as well! All the best to Sweet Cyanide with this album, and I hope to see them on this side of the pond very soon.

Altsounds.com

“Currently leaning more towards the glam scene, elements of David Bowie, T-Rex, The Beatles, Stone Temple Pilots and Gilby Clarke can be found in Sweet Cyanide’s self-titled debut. “I’m just a music lover,” Scoca says. “In each song, I tried to touch a different style. It doesn’t get more sincere than that. We just wanted to do what we like. Honestly, this is the first project I’m 100% in love with every aspect of it, and I guess it shows.

“The name Sweet Cyanide rolls off the tongue easily – and instantly causes parental alarm. “Back when I was in high school, it was the name I came up with for my very first rock band. Remember the scare back in the ’80s with cyanide in Tylenol? It referenced that. Something clicked and it became Sweet Cyanide. It’s an old name. I’ve had it since eighth grade, so ‘92 maybe.

” Simplistic and eye-catching, the album cover looks as though it’s upside-down based upon the pills’ shadows. “Our drummer Mike [Bambace] does all of the artwork and design. He just works from a different place. He’s never on Earth as I like to put it,” Scoca admits. “He’s always out there. There’s a reason why he did that. It’s not just done for effect, but I’m not exactly sure why. I can tell you why he put all the naked chicks on the inside though – we’re very into that! It’s what we come from. Some of the girls are personal collection pictures and others are pictures we’ve always had floating around.

“The aforementioned X-rated collage will probably exclude the album from retailers such as Wal Mart. “It’s very likely they won’t carry it. But quite frankly,” Scoca adds. “We’re not really shooting for the Wal Mart or Disney audience. We’re looking for guys and girls who party and appreciate good music.”

Sweet Cyanide add their own twist to the fabled sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll scenario. “I tend to write lyrics from a darker perspective,” reveals Scoca. “I’ll delve into topics that might make not necessarily everyone, but people who have experienced certain things, uncomfortable.”

Speaking of uncomfortable, recording in a haunted studio would make most people feel just that way. “We have a rehearsal space that we’ve been using for a while. When we started loading in Pro Tools and all the gear, little things were happening. Lights were flickering, which you usually attribute to bad electrical or whatever,” Scoca intimates. “Then we started tracking the record and parts would pop in that were never recorded. When we looked into the history of the building, we found out from the actual owner that it used to be a halfway house for criminals and somebody killed themselves in there. Even if we’re going for a poppy, happy song, it definitely puts a tinge of eeriness to it.

“While an actual ghost was never seen, Scoca mentions that “[bassist Angelo Fariello] used to take girls there at night and have sex with them in the control room, which was fine. It’s a very comfortable room. We have couches, AC and TV. He said a couple of times he’d see shit move or a shadow – but he was probably too drunk to realize what he saw.”

NoiseCreep.com

Though Sweet Cyanide is a relatively new band (founded in 2008), its members are not new to the music business. Featuring vocalist/guitarist Sal Scoca and bassist Angelo Fariello from Crashbox and drummer Mike Bambace and guitarist Joe Salvatore from Moment Theory. Being veterans to the scene definitely helped build up and mold this band into what it is and what it will become.

Sweet Cyanide, though unique, brings in some distinctive qualities that can be closely linked to that of punk rock titans and Green Day and classic rock moguls, The Beatles. Even with the solid and catchy guitar riffs, what drew me to this band was singer Sal Scoca’s beautiful, yet powerful, voice.

With the cd debuting late last year, Sweet Cyanide has started booking shows with some big named acts, so be sure to go out and buy their self-titled debut cd and look out for them on tour and blowing up the main stream in the months to come.Some of the stand out tracks include: “Black & White”, “Crash Theory” and “Certain Shadows on the Wall”. Overall, this is probably one of the most consistently solid debut cds I’ve had the pleasure of listening to in quite awhile.

I give Sweet Cyanide a 9/10 and my hopes for more great music from them in the future. Sweet Cyanide is out now via Independent Records.

Chip Tamplin July 19, 2009

Cosmos Gaming

Sweet Cyanide is a band born in the boroughs of New York City from the remnants of Crashbox and Moment Theory. Merging two halves to equal the whole, vocalist/guitarist Sal Scoca and bassist Angelo Fariello have joined with drummer Mike Bambace and guitarist Joe Salvatore. The group’s 10-song, self-titled studio release is a musical event that reaches back in time and hooks into the theatrical ‘70s while lumbering forward, aspiring toward future greatness.

Historically, Sweet Cyanide is a relative newcomer to the music scene. Beginning in the fall of ’08, Socca describes the direction of the band, “I want Sweet Cyanide to sound like we just got dropped here from space. As a kid, I really believed KISS was KISS and Bowie was his persona. I want people to feel that strongly about the uniqueness and power of Sweet Cyanide.”

Eccentric, eclectic and, at times, a bit campy, the album is awash with songs that as disjointed as described fit into a cohesive collection of compelling music. The music harnesses the angst of youth as well as maturity that defy logic for a debut release. Much of that can be attributed to each musician having honed his skills during their previous exploits.

Each band member brings his own level of insanity to the group. “All four of us are literally insane — but each in a totally different way,” proclaims Angelo Fariello. Scoca is the “evil genius,” Salvatore is the “mad scientist,” Bambaces is the “glue” holding it all together while Fariello’s influences lend to his own unique style.

Each song on the album was written in running order … from the opener “Crash Theory,” a song that tips it hat to Crashbox and Moment Theory, all the way to the finale, “When We Were Young.” The music runs the gambit from Green Day-ish simplicity to Beatle-esque vocal harmonies. Tracking the majority of the songs in a haunted studio in New York adds to the ambiance and depth of the music. The band’s willingness to experiment and think outside of the box helps to fill the music out creatively.

At the end of the day, Sweet Cyanide are four individuals striving to create one unique sound. On their debut release, they certainly find the “sweet spot.” The 10-song album has the magic and creativity to garner the interest of rock fans.

Hardrock Haven

Have you heard of a band called Sweet Cyanide?

Chances are you haven’t. But, then again, chances are you will soon.

Since the band’s origins, which don’t even amount to a year, Sweet Cyanide has been riding a wave of upward momentum traveling so fast, it makes the Planck epoch at the birth of the universe look like the maturation rate of a cicada.

Recalling the ghosts of rockers past like David Bowie and T.Rex, Sweet Cyanide has been making a name for themselves on the streets of the Big Apple, bringing their own twist on glam to the ears of eager New Yorkers.

“I think what record companies have been doing for the past year is putting out this cookie-cutter, Top 40 stuff that doesn’t have any longevity,” says Sal Scoca, the band’s Brooklyn-accented singer. “I think there are a lot of people out there who want something real, something with some depth to it.”

The group’s self-titled debut is more of a proclamation of arrival than something meant to bend and twist the mind. No, they aren’t warping your reality like Tool, or progging the shit out of you with tales of wales like Mastodon.

No! Sweet Cyanide is keeping it fucking real and delivering a smash 10-track debut that brings the heart of sex, the glamour of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the style of the past roaring back to meet the demands of a public hungry for a resurgence of authenticity. Perhaps the simplicity can be a bit daunting sometimes, but you’re not meant to play this disc at a medium volume and be delivered an existential, mind-bending tornado of introspection. Hell, no!

You cram Sweet Cyanide into your CD player (or download the shit out of those MP3s and upload the hell out of them onto your iPod) and crank that baby until your ears are bleeding and you have the sudden desire to snort that extra line of coke and drive that minivan at an unsafe speed! And when you come home and make the maddest love to your wife and she’s asking what the hell has gotten into you, you simply respond:

“Sal sent me.”

Sweet Cyanide has a sound tailor-made for the Los Angeles music scene. With an emphasis on image almost rivaling that of the music itself, the band takes what is so great about the SoCal image and combines it with a Bronx attitude. Throw in some super catchy choruses and you have a gazpacho that is fit for grandma Baltasar.

Buzzine

Let’s start off stating that every single track on this CD can be described as hits. I have not found a single song that could not be a big hit. Although songs like S.L.M, Black & White, American Me, Between Us, I wish You Would and When we were young are very strong songs to be powerful hits with the right promotional crew.

What really amazes me the most is the fact that this is a self recorded, produced, and mixed disc which highlights the talent in this group even more in my opinion! I really think this band has a strong future. When I jam this disc I always have people asking about it. I love the fact that this band touches so many musical styles from Rockabilly to Power Rock.

I hear bands like Reverend Horton Heat, Beatles, Ratt, Dokken, Jet, Black Crowes, and so many others to many to name. But it really makes for a remarkable disc and sound.This is hands down my favorite versatile disc right now.

Review by: XTRMDave

Rock My Monkey

I listened to the album and here are my thoughts:
While the songs played it put me into a mindset of late eighties early nineties rock bands, it took me back to a time when I had hair and well rock bands had lots of hair and a bit of make up as well. The frontman on most all of the tracks, Sal Scoca, has a voice that matches those era bands. They do give us a different side as well with one of the hottest female vocalists Lindsay Benjamin stepping in to add a little fla-vor to the songs. The drummer plays a very Motley Crue type of sound and I will be damned if the band doesn’t cite them as a major influ-ence. These individuals, Sal Scoca, vocals, Angelo Fariello, bass, Mike Bambace, Drums, and Joe Salvatore, Guitar, pour out a throwback feel that is both refreshing and reintoductive into the now stagnant Three Days Grace sound of today‟s rock and roll bands. With a classic sex, drugs, and rock theme that rides from the cover (which I did enjoy tremendously) to the last note played on a guitar riff, they bring en-ergy not seen in years in the genre. Any guy that gets this album will enjoy singing along in the car and banging their girls head off the headboard to SWEET CYANIDE. If you worship the Crue, or Velvet Revolver, you will be pissed if you let this band get away. So go out and get the damn cd. Oh yeah if you have a lil brother in his teens.. he will be staring at the cover for hours. If nothing else. get the album for him.

From a scale of Garbage Can to Car Audio I give them a solid cd. Shelf placement..that‟s 4 out of 5.

Rock on SWEET CYANIDE!!

RIO HIETT IS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BREECH
Rock out With the Star Out

From the July issue of Shockwave Magazine (Maryland’s Premiere Magazine)