ION INDIE MAGAZINE September 2015, Volume 16 | Page 122

By Gary Carota www.facebook.com/pages/Gary-Carota-Images/1446109878980969 Though the guys in SOAPBOX ARSON have only been together for about a year and a half, they are taking the local music scene in Central North Carolina by storm, and making some pretty big waves doing it. On August 1, Soapbox Arson premiered their first full length CD at a special release event at THE BLIND TIGER in Greensboro, NC, in front of a packed house of friends, family and fans--some of which, traveled up to 4 hours to be there. Local band, TRAILER PARK ORCHESTRA, opened the show and came out blazing, setting a Rock and Roll tone that never let up all night long. Soapbox Arson, performed their entire new CD--as well as debuting some brand new material that they've been working on in the studio. As new music reviews often go, since the event, I have listened to this CD, somewhere between 20-30 times (which is normal for me, when I'm doing a review). With every run-through, I like this CD more and more. Musically, it's solid--with great guitar riffs and heavy tone by JOSH SMITH and DAVE STEPHENSON, a good solid bassline by JEREMY LEWIS, and some outstanding beats and changes on the drums by their attack man, STEPHEN COOK. BUT, so impressive are JOSHUA SMITH’S vocals. He manages to thread a well- balanced line, between outstanding singing with an incredible voice, and some mixed in well-placed screams, that literally, give you chills. I'm a HUGE fan of songs that have frequent changes and songs that have a good build to something that explodes, and this album is full of them. My favorite songs on the CD? I have three that I can listen to all day long: "King of Nothing", "Shovelhead", and "Scars", with “Shovelhead” being my absolute favorite—with its constant changes from soft and melodic to hard core, and a scream at the end that seems to last forever. Damn…if you like your Rock HARD with a Metal edge, PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR and get this CD! As these guys continue to climb and make their mark, here in the local music scene in NC, I expect to see BIG things from them in the future! http://www.soapboxarson.com/ https://www.facebook.com/soapboxarson www.reverbnation.com/soapboxarson/song/21394568-king-of-nothing