Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) September 14, 2012

Local rock band Barbarian Overlords continue to blaze through 2012 with yet another milestone as the opening act for the wildly popular Steel Panther on September 17. A landmark of the Hollywood music scene, Steel Panther has taken up weekly residencies in both L.A. and Las Vegas for years. Their over-the-top, high-energy shows play to packed houses and have attracted everyone from Sebastian Bach to Tony Romo to Corey Feldman to Billy Ray Cyrus.

This is the first time Barbarian Overlords will be sharing the bill with Steel Panther, and it is sure to be yet another highlight in the band's already impressive year. They recently participated along with Marilyn Manson, The Offspring, and members of The Doors in the legendary 5th Annual Sunset Strip Music Festival, opening for Quiet Riot at the Key Club. The band has been checking nearly every Hollywood venue off of their list as they claw their way to the top of the L.A. music scene.

Drummer Brandon Kachel (who formed the band with guitarist Joe Spadero) has had an impressive year, both in and out of Barbarian Overlords. This multi-talented artist seems to live several lives – he is a former Pro Wrestling Guerilla wrestler. He currently works as a matte painter and has worked on such box office hits as Iron Man and Alice in Wonderland. And somewhere he found the time to win "We're All Bonzo Wannabes," a contest formed and judged by drumming legend Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Billy Idol, Foreigner). Tichy handpicked Kachel himself to play with Led Zeppelin cover band The Moby Dicks. Tichy recently proclaimed, "After receiving a tweet from Brandon Kachel, I went and checked out their video on YouTube. Brandon gets a great "Bonham-esque" sound and the band has some cool tunes and fat grooves. Go see Barbarian Overlords as soon as you can!"

Tichy and Kachel share a mutual love and admiration for the late Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Kachel recently said in an interview, "The guy was so cool when he played and he is the very sole reason why I play drums." Tichy has dedicated much of his career honoring Bonham as well, producing many tribute concerts and events, the most recent being "Bonzo's Birthday Bash," which took place this past spring at House of Blues.

Barbarian Overlords will be showcasing their talents and no doubt picking up a few new fans on Monday, September 17. $5 tickets are available through the band's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Barbarian-Overlords/150300271698451.

A throwback to 1970's rock & roll with screaming guitars, pounding drums and a wailing frontman, BARBARIAN OVERLORDS features lead guitarist Joe Spadero, singer Brent Nuffer, drummer Brandon Kachel and bassist G.K. Via. Over the album's eight tracks, OVERLORDS deftly leap across musical boundaries – blending elements of blues, punk, and even country into the band's hard-rock base.

BARBARIAN OVERLORDS regularly perform in Southern California, headlining such well-known clubs as The Roxy. The video for their first single, "In a Rush to Meet the Queen," will release in April.

Andrea Contanzo at Doomantia
What a beautiful surprise! Barbarian Overlords hail from California and, keeping a tightly low profile, they delivered what might be one of the most rousing and full-heartedly pleasant début albums I've heard in a while. The guys play that sort of no holds barred hard rock with a seventies feel that hails to the golden age of early Led Zeppelin, when the riffing was bluesy, theatrical and wild, Thin Lizzy and even early Rush and Queen. The electric blues recipe is the basis for the whole album and the bands plays it with no restraint, going for the over the top, old school card.

I'll try to explain.

The opener "In A Rush To Meet The Queen" is a zep-like rocker, played with a gritty abandon, and made special by the incredibly wild vocal performance. The singing might be something that either drives you away from the band or does the deal for you: it's not generic or restrained. It's in the spirit of early, savage Robert Plant, Freddie Mercury or Geddy Lee. And where that shows even more is in the heated Blues Rock of "Running Scared". The track is, in fact, some sort of twin of the classic Zeppelin take on "Since I've Been Loving You": a blues piece, with over the top solos and some marvelously loose singing, filled with classic ad-libbed pieces.

At times, the driving rhythms, riffs almost touch the nervous moods of some post punk bands ("Something in The Brush" is a rock piece but also so tense and overcharged that it gains some sort of brutish insanity), and that's what elevates this whole album to some weird hypnotic level. Its full of fire, madness and lack of restraint. It's a love or hate affair. I love it..... 8/10.

Justin Violent Lee
We don't get to hear much new bluesy, pounding rock & roll these days. Black Keys and Clutch are some of the few bands holding the torch from legends like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Barbarian Overlords are worthy of being in that prestigious company.

While Barbarian Overlords first album is relatively short, the band shows their chops early and often. You'll find meaty hooks, sweet melodies, passionate vocals and slamming percussion. Guitarist Joe Spadaro has some serious skills. Singer Brent Nuffer evokes Eddie Vedder at times, but more playful. Code of the West is my favorite song -- one where it's impossible not to nod your head and smile.

The album was amazingly all self-funded and self-published, but it's got all the production values of a major label release. I've seen these guys live a few times, and Barbarian Overlords deliver in spades.

If you're a rock fan, check out these guys!

The Soda Shop
I like when I get the random emails from bands I have never heard of. Sometimes I'm a little hesitant in checking them out. Maybe I'm to comfortable with what I know and don't want to see what's out there. Most of the time I check them out as they took the time to let us know about them. Lately I've been getting a lot of those and there's been a lot of good bands. One such band is Barbarian Overlords.

It's really tough to nail a specific genre to them as they tread the line between hard rock, progressive rock, punk, blues and even a little country rock. The bulk of their debut album lies within the punk and progressive range. The first song, "In A Rush To Meet The Queen" reminds me a little bit of The Talking Heads. I'd even say this is what the Talking Heads may sound like if they were starting out today. The country/blues songs "Somewhere To Be" and "No Lowly" are excellently done and sound great. The closing track, "The Ambassador" is a nice mix of all the genres mentioned below and an all round kick ass tune.

All in all, if you liked some of the more recent discoveries in The Yellow Belts and Mad Anthony, Barbarian Overlords aren't to far apart from those bands. They're someone you should definately check out. Their self titled debut is full of big sound and lots of energy. It's fairly short at 30 minutes but I wouldn't let that detract from anything. The album is due out early November. You can hear the entire album over at the bands Reverbnation page.