If LACUNA COIL‘S Dark Adrenaline, HALESTORM‘S The Strange Case of…,a brand spankin’ new LITA FORD album due in June, female fronted European metal juggernauts NIGHTWISH and AMARANTHE and the ever present and powerful Amy Lee of EVANSCENCE all making fantastic music in 2012 doesn’t convince you that this is THE YEAR OF THE WOMAN IN HARD ROCK AND HEAVY METAL then maybe this new band will.

DEAD SARA has blown my mind with just one song. Weatherman. It is from their self titled debut and it’s vying to knock Love Bites (So Do I) from HALESTORM off it’s perch atop my favorite hard rock song of 2012.

Watch the video for Weatherman below and decide for yourself. I’ve also included another powerful, powerful video for the tune Sorry For It All. Both songs come from DEAD SARA’S debut album released on April 10, 2012.

There seems to be something magical in the air this year when it comes to the creation of killer new hard rock and heavy metal music. It’s beginning to remind me of some of the best years ever like 1980 and 1982. Dare we dream of another year like 1980? A year that featured some of the greatest hard rock and metal albums of all-time:

AC/DC- BACK IN BLACK

OZZY OSBOURNE – BLIZZARD OF OZZ

BLACK SABBATH – HEAVEN AND HELL

JUDAS PRIEST – BRITISH STEEL

MOTORHEAD – ACE OF SPADES

REO SPEEDWAGON – HI INFIDELITY

RUSH – PERMANENT WAVES

SAXON – WHEELS OF STEEL

Now that is an impressive list. Every album on that list a classic and a standard bearer for hard rock and heavy metal. I doubt we will match 1980’s legendary output but we are off to a damn fine start with albums like this already in the pipe:

LACUNA COIL – DARK ADRENALINE

LAMB OF GOD – RESOLUTION

HALESTORM – THE STRANGE CASE OF…

VAN HALEN – A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH

CORROSiON OF CONFORMITY – CORROSION OF CONFORMITY

EVERY TIME I DIE – EX LIVES

OVERKILL – THE ELECTRIC AGE

SLASH – APOCALYPTIC LOVE

And still to come:

RUSH – CLOCKWORK ANGELS

KISS – MONSTER

AEROSMITH – MUSIC FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION

BLACK SABBATH – UNTITLED

ALICE IN CHAINS – UNTITLED

METALLICA – UNTITLED

QUEEN – UNTITLED

SOUNDGARDEN – UNTITLED

TOOL – UNTITLED

Now we can add DEAD SARA to the list of impressive albums already making waves in 2012 and it sits squarely in my TOP 10 of 2012 so far. Great music should move you and this band moves me. If you buy only one album all year long, DEAD SARA should be high on your list for THAT one.

Music history is rich with rock bands fronted by dynamic duos. Looking to carry on this yin and yang tradition are two talented young women, singer Emily Armstrong and guitarist Siouxsie Medley, who front Los Angeles’ Dead Sara — an electrifying four-piece rock band whose supercharged music is propelled by Medley’s exhilarating, monster guitar riffs and Armstrong’s powerful, wailing vocals.

The two musicians are a study in contrast onstage: Medley remains rooted in place — a solid, steady anchor for Armstrong’s almost unhinged performance style. A skilled vocal stylist who can handle blues, soul, and folk-rock with equal aplomb, Armstrong can unleash a guttural howl one minute and trill as pretty as a songbird the next. (When asked by the Wall Street Journal recently which female rock singers she admired, legendary Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick namechecked Armstrong, citing her “strong, urgent sound.”)

Dead Sara, which also includes bassist Chris Null and drummer Sean Friday, has attracted major buzz for the ferocious spectacle of its high-octane live performances. Of a January show at The Troubadour, L.A.’s indie-rock tastemaker website Picksysticks.com raved: “You almost forgot you were watching a rock show in the 450-capacity Troubadour and not in a venue like Staples Center that holds thousands when Dead Sara launched into their soon-to-be mega hit ‘Weatherman.’” OC Weekly has praised the band for its “blazing, impassioned classic rock, punk/indie jams, catchy guitar melodies, and songs about not backing down,” while Buzzbands.la noted that Dead Sara’s “strain of primal rock is loud enough to awaken the ghosts in both the indie and metal underworlds, and maybe even get them to dance a bit.”

Having spent much of last year in the studio, Dead Sara are gearing up to unleash the fruits of their labors with a three-song digital release, due February 7th and featuring the explosive first single “Weatherman,” emotionally resonant ballad “Sorry For It All,” and an exclusive acoustic version of “Test My Patience.” Their highly anticipated self-titled debut album is slated to be released on April 10th via the band’s own label, Pocket Kid Records through Fontana/Universal.

Produced by Noah Shain, the music veers effortlessly from melodic, soaring tunes such as “We Are What You Say” and “Whispers & Ashes,” to bruised, power ballads like “Dear Love” and “Face to Face,” to fierce, blaring tracks “Timed Blues,” “Test My Patience,” and “Weatherman.”

“That diversity is what’s honest and real to us,” Medley says. “We love classic rock, blues, folk, metal, punk, gospel, all of it, so we didn’t want to put restrictions on ourselves genre-wise. We just knew we wanted the music to sound really raw and primal, even a bit unsettling.” Lyrically, many of Dead Sara’s songs are survival anthems informed by their struggle to stay true to their vision of being a powerful, uncompromising female-fronted rock band. “Weatherman was one of the first lyrics that I sang when we started writing the song – it was something I had to build the lyrics around. It comes down to predicting your own future by what it is you do today. Creating your own weather per se in standing up for what you believe in.”

“Weatherman” has sunk its teeth into Modern Rock and Active Rock radio and has already scored early adds from top stations KYSR (#1 most requested) in Los Angeles, KTBZ in Houston, WCCC FM in Hartford, CT, (where it is the No. 2 most requested song) WRKN/ New Orleans, KOMP/Las Vegas, KNDD/ Seattle, KRBZ/Kansas City, KCXX/Riverside, WGRD/Grand Rapids, WYBB/Charleston,and 99X in Atlanta. In addition, look for Dead Sara as a featured artist on the Vans Warped Tour 2012, which kicks off June 16th in Salt Lake City.

Published by rbtaleman

Heavy metal (fiend/friend?) Writer, frustrat(or), frustrat(ee), decorated U.S. Navy veteran, Husband(twice), father(three times), grandfather(of seven), FM radio veteran, Concertgoer, music collector, muscle car aficianado. Grown up since five. Child since 45. View all posts by rbtaleman