Teenage Strange

Eerie Energy [7-inch] (2013)

Superskabro

Other than a handful of laughable Christian metalcore bands, the Indianapolis music scene isn't known for much. The past few years, however, have produced a phenomenal crop of heavy, sludgy, garage-y bands that are sure to make waves. Leading the pack are Teenage Strange.

After playing around for a few months, the three-piece quickly fine-tuned their sound. Based heavily on Black Sabbath-style riffs and the inhalation of marijuana, their sound is well-crafted and ear-numbing. Eerie Energy, their first release, is a fine taste of what TS is capable of.

Side A, the title track, is a classic bong-rattler that wouldn't be out of place on a older-era Queens of the Stone Age record. The vocals, however, are much more Alice Cooper than Josh Homme. The song chugs along for three minutes at a mildly headbanging pace, with a rollicking bass lick to help move it along.

"Zeitgeist," on the flip side, is a six-minute rager that kicks off with a doom-y riff. That riff keeps the main body of the song roaring until about the three-minute mark when the song breaks down into the sludge zone. I dare you to try to resist headbanging to this one.

At only two tracks, it's a bit hard to gauge how well TS will fare when they collect a full album's worth of songs, but I'm assuming it's going to be impressive. Eerie Energy is a great introduction to a great band. Let's just hope they can continue to roll at full steam.