Sleaze Metal RELEASE DATE: 19 July 2024 Raised on an unhealthy diet of cereal, Jack Daniel’s and the bands rolling off of the Sunset Strip in the early to mid 80s, Phoenix, AZ sleaze merchants CHOKE CHAIN are here to shake you up, break you down and get under your skin a bit.
Sometimes the best things in life take the longest to come to fruition. After working together for a few years in an old school punk project, guitarist Mikey Ravone, drummer Phil Hernandez and bassist Nikki Peril went back to their original love, performing original music. The only thing left to find was a strong lead vocalist, and after countless auditions, Julian Avila entered the picture. Thus, CHOKE CHAIN emerged from the back alleys and gutters of Phoenix, Arizona.
Auditions are never easy and auditioning singers, even less. “Ego and arrogance is always what we envisioned for a frontman, but not in every second of one’s day, That’s what made Julian so refreshing, his humility, respectfulness, eagerness, and soulful sound made him the perfect fit for CHOKE CHAIN,” professes Peril.
CHOKE CHAIN formed in the middle of the pandemic so there was plenty of time for weekly rehearsals and getting the band’s set and choreography tight for when clubs and businesses opened back up. “After a couple months removed from our first show in Dec of 2020, we realized we had something different than many, if not most, names in the Phoenix area; a distinct sound that lovers of all different genres could resonate with. It was then we planned out first trip into that necessary evil, the studio,” declares axeman Ravone.
Recorded at Sound Vision Studio in Mesa, AZ, Choke Chain’s debut album ‘Choke on This’ was produced by Michael Beck (Escape the Hive) and really showcases the diversity of writing styles of Ravone and Peril, having first-hand experience of the subject matter – no fairy-tale stories or make believe going on here! Lyrics such as “You tore my heart apart, but I won’t let it bleed,” from “Beg and Plead” truly paints a picture of the brutal hardening process of real life experiences. “What You Want” speaks on how a lack of communication can break down the best of relationships while “She Cries Alone” tells a tale of someone who has lived a life in denial of reality, that all of us have known.
Beck’s production, through many late night recording sessions, extracted the sound they had been looking for since the inception. “Michael just let us be us,” recalls Nikki. “He wasn’t looking to change what we do to fit any agenda he may have had while working on the record. Just one small example of that, is, a lot of producers and engineers want you to record sitting down because they think it makes you play better. Not me. It doesn’t help me at all. I play better standing up, Michael understood that and didn’t argue with me about it.”
While their modern day sleaze rock boldly borrows from the past, it also drives headlong into the future. With all the arrogance and attitude of their early influences – including KISS, Motley Crue and Alice Cooper – rest assured, CHOKE CHAIN doesn’t imitate, they originate and command every stage they set foot on. From rock anthems to guitar driven riffs, the CHOKE CHAIN sound will not only grab you by the face, it’ll rip it to shreds…
