Desert Dragon Mixes Generations Of Rock On This Side Of Heaven
Published
This Side of Heaven
Desert Dragon
This Side Of Heaven is eleven solid rock tracks that demonstrate the indisputable talent of the band, as well as its ability to unite harder-edged sounds with progressive and blues influences that create a musical maze of genres and flavors.
Desert Dragon vocalist St John is well known in the rock world for his time in Montrose, Lynch Mob, and currently, Kingdom Come, Burning Rain, and the Raiding the Rock Vault production on the Las Vegas strip. Making up the rest of the band is Greg Patnode and Brent Barker on guitar, Rick Brandt on bass, Lenny Roberto on drums, and Michael Smith on keyboards. St John cowrote and coproduced This Side of Heaven with Patnode and Smith.
The band has a knack for pairing elements of the 70s, 80s and 90s rock movements with the toughest edge of the blues. They also have an impressive knack for imbuing their songs with the catchiest of hooks, it’s a bit like unearthing a lost remnant from the days when KNAC ruled the airwaves, and the Sunset Strip was the place to be.
Many of the songs harken back to the gritty blues of rock n roll adding a funky strut and leaving the listener wondering how the band will evolve as they move forward. The tracks effortlessly groove, thanks to the easy chemistry between the musicians
The product of a wide range of influences, This Side of Heaven takes the gritty sounds of rock and throws them in the blender with hints of blues, a touch of funk and a whole lot of attitudes. The album feels both familiar and fresh and there’s a sense of excitement within the music that is wholly irresistible.
Since their debut in 2011, the band has independently released the EP Desolation which was produced by the legendary Ron Nevison (Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, The Faces, Heart, Lynyrd Skynyrd) and featured Billboard charting singles “Darkness Shines” and “Miles Away”. For their album Before The Storm, the band collaborated with Producer/Mixer James “Jimbo” Barton (Queensrÿche, Rush, Metallica) with the song “Save My World” garnering Best Rock Song at the Malibu Music Awards.
