Bman's Blues Report

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Devil Beside Me , by Ben Hemming and it's a unusual, yet interesting take on the blues. Opening with Dead Man Blues , a dark, lumbering blues rocker with contemporary influences, Ben Hemming on vocal and guitar shows the colors of metal rock joined by James Hosking on bass and Luigi Rampino on drums. Droning guitar riffs swirl on Inside as a heavy footed Rampino drives this train. Me And The Leper has a lot of movement with a highly active bass line, solid lead vocals and slide guitar with highly effective string  to hand contact on overmiked acoustic guitar. Very cool. One of my favorites on the release is One Eyed King with a driving rock beat and grinding slide guitar work by Hemming. Another of my favorite tracks on the release is The Sea , with a quiet, acoustic guitar backing under Hemming 's vocals. The electric guitar melody is what hooks me on this track with it's haunting sound. Very nice.  ...