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Dirt Rock, defined as the sour mash blend of hard rock, classic rock, blues, and metal.

Late 2011 brought about the birth of Pittsburgh, PA’s RULE OF TWO. With the band’s inception, their brand of rock n’ roll was also born: Dirt Rock, an amalgamation of blues, classic rock, and heavy metal. Beaver locals Aaron Bender (vocals/guitars) and Flavion Mancini (drums) left their alt-rock band shirtcollarsmile in order to explore their own songwriting skills and focus more on their hard rock/metal roots. After going through a multitude of bass players, Bender and Mancini were forced to place an ad in Craigslist. Lured by the promise of money, shows, and (mainly) beer, journeyman bassist Herm Staving (Downfall, ex-One Step Away, ex-Without Fail, etc.)—also a Beaver native looking for a hard rock-based project—joined the fold, rounding out the trio. Now armed with an arsenal of material and a six-song EP, Hair of the Dog, RULE OF TWO is bringing Dirt Rock to any and all venues that will open their doors to the band. So stop by a show, buy a CD, maybe get the guys a beer; experience the unique sounds grown from these roots.

Finnish rockers, White Flame have released a new single, “I Know Where You Live”.

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In 1987 guitarist Alexey Belov, vocalist Nikolay Noskov, bassist Alexander “Big Sasha” Minkov, guitarist Jan Ianenkov, and drummer Alexander Lvov (formerly from Aria) came together to form Gorky Park. Stas Namin, a famous 70’s soviet musician, became the band’s manager. Because Gorbachev lifted the censorship, many underground rock bands, including Gorky Park, became able to receive more widespread popularity. Later that year the band left Russia for the United States in search of a record deal.

In the U.S. the band soon made some connections in the record business. One of the first people to take notice was famous guitarist Frank Zappa.Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora also helped them to secure a deal with Mercury Records.

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Portland, Maine, rockers Sun Gods in Exile make no bones about who they are or what they do. Their second album, Thanks for the Silver(Small Stone), is guitar rock all the way through – a dudely amalgam of Southern riffing and solos that puts a figurative edge to the literal “double-guitar” lineup distinction. It’s easy to imagine six-string connoisseurs swishing the work of Tony D’Agostino and Adam Hitchcockaround a brandy snifter to air them out – or at very least popping the top of a can and enjoying the hiss and the fizz as a song like “Moonshine” plays out its Southern course. At times Thanks for the Silver is almost a caricature of heavy Southern rock masculinity, and coming from a band located in the northernmost state in the continental US, that has its own issues, but damned if the five-piece don’t do it well, and the sophomore outing shows marked growth from where their 2009 debut, Black Light, White Lines (review here) left off, most notably with the inclusion ofChristopher Neal’s keyboards.