I first heard of Disonic last summer. I was at Logan Square Auditorium to check out another local band, and Marq Withers gave me a demo cd of three songs. I listened to it in the car on the way home, and I was hooked. They were passionate and energetic and stuck in my head. Not in an annoying Addam’s Family theme song way (you can hear it now, can’t you, and you want to shoot me), but in the way that has me grabbing for the CD so I can actually hear it instead of relying on my memory. As soon as my teenage son heard them he declared Disonic his new favorite band. And this was just from three songs. When I heard they were releasing an EP I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.
Now, I’ve never been one to go all ga-ga over a band. I like music – a lot – but even as a teenager I wasn’t the kind to think “I’ll just die if they ever break up” and have never related to the dedication that makes people wait up all night in line to get tickets, or give up their jobs to follow a band around the country, or faint from excitement a-la Beatlemania. Those reactions are all still a bit extreme for me, but I will say after hearing this EP that I really, really want Disonic to succeed so they can create more and more and more music. I’m hooked like a Harry Potter fan.
I have to confess I’ve been a little selfish. I’ve now had “The Value Of Truth” for a few weeks and should have reviewed it right away, but I just wanted to listen to it. But the main reason I’ve delayed is I’ve been nervous. I’m not a music critic. There’s no encyclopedic knowledge in the recesses of my brain that I can tap into for references, or that will help me to make insightful comments on their influences and the direction they could take their genre. Because I want them to succeed, there’s a bit of pressure to try to put this just the right way so anyone reading it will immediately buy it and clamor for them to play somewhere close (their live shows are something else also. I get the stirrings of those crazed fans I mentioned earlier when I think of seeing them live).
Disonic’s music is Alternative/Rock/Metal, or as my son and I like to call it, Angry Music. Don’t get me wrong – it doesn’t make me feel angry. It’s just a term I use for music I can bang my head to that’s intense and exciting. If I am angry, this is the perfect genre to help me release any pent up agression so I don’t pull out the redhead temper. It’s also great for running, or driving, or cleaning, or doing just about anything and ironically, it actually makes me smile. What gets me about Disonic, and I believe separates them from the masses of Tool and Black Sabbath wannabes, is the sheer skill, the perfectionism, the attention to every detail, from the nuances of Marq’s supple vocals to the tightness of Shane Riley’s rhythms to the sophistication and musicality of David Kohut, Chris Reyno, and Brian Paz.
Their lyrics are poetic and clean. Clean’s important. Not because I’m a prude, but because they’ve created lyrics that are expressive and emotive instead of taking the easy way out by peppering them with slang and profanity. They convey passion and despair and hope and fear. Reading their lyrics in the liner notes feels almost like voyeurism but I’m so enthralled by the imagery and the story being told that I can’t look away.
Musically I’ve got one thing to say: My dad likes ’em. He recently entered my apartment while I was listening to Disonic and he said “I like them.” I almost had a heart attack. My dad is a music snob. He listens to classical music and can rattle off composers and conductors and can tell you what piece is being played after hearing a few bars. My mom’s recently been expanding his repertoire to include Eric Clapton and a few other guitar greats, but alternative rock? I felt like my world had gone all topsy-turvy and I had no idea who was standing in my living room. And then I got a huge smile on my face.
Heck, if my dad likes them, and I like them, and my son likes them – three generations appreciating a band in a genre that usually doesn’t cross those lines – they are bound to make it. Good thing, because I’m wearing out “The Value Of Truth” and know every word to every song and can’t wait to hear what else they’ve got coming.
Listen: [coolplayer width=”300″ height=”40″ autoplay=”0″ loop=”0″ charset=”utf-8″ download=”1″ mediatype=””] Disonic – “Walk Away” [/coolplayer] Disonic Chris Reyno – Guitar, Vocals. Dave Kohut – Guitar, Vocals, Programming. Shane Riley – Drums. Brian Paz – Bass. Marq Withers – Lead Vocals 
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