Rock’n’roll’s edgy and authentic resurrection is in full swing.
Emerging from the shadows dripping in leather and studs, Biters are hellbent on reviving the best of rock’s first golden era, not least because dirty riffs and raw vocals run through the veins of frontman Tuk Smith.
“My mom saw AC/DC when she was pregnant with me, and Angus Young was on someone’s shoulders in the crowd,” he tells us. “She was grabbing at him and he was really sweaty, so she said Angus Young’s sweat seeped into her pores and into my blood!”
Arriving on the scene with the looks of The Ramones and the contagious melodies of Cheap Trick, Atlanta’s Biters have a thing or two to show the music industry.
“Rock’n’roll to me has always been audio-visual – even if it’s an anti-visual like AC/DC, who look working class; think Kiss and Alice Cooper, or The Ramones and The Clash,” says Tuk. “That’s a huge element missing in rock’n’roll today; image is embedded in the blood of this music and we’re bringing it back.”
From the sassy Restless Hearts to the gritty The Kids Ain’t Alright, Biters’ debut album Electric Blood hurls punches from all angles, demanding a return to the halcyon days of the 70s.
“If I could bring anything back from those days, I’d stockpile clothes, platform boots and a load of 70s vinyl,” Tuk muses. “I’d bring back 70s Stevie Nicks, too, just to hang out with me!”
By fusing rock with intrepid punk at its grittiest and challenging the spandex parody bands, Biters have sunk their teeth into reliving the golden age of guitars. “I feel like a superhero fighting corporate music because I’m doing what I want and not following anyone, it really empowers me. I never tune my vocals, I want to sound like a person! Everybody’s scared about getting shit on the internet – if you come out with a cock-mullet playing this kind of music, you’re open to criticism, so you can’t really give a fuck!”
Make no mistake, Biters are devoted rock crusaders, bringing the heart back to a genre that lost its morals to the glamour of Hollywood all too quickly.
“I’m not singing about sitting in a hot tub with girls and driving a Corvette down Sunset Strip because that’s not my life,” Tuk states. “The life we write about is real. It’s pretty rough in some places down here. I want to show that rock’n’roll is still cool, a little bit dangerous and so much fun –it’s not ancient and archaic music for old people. Rock isn’t dead… it’s in a coma right now and we’re trying to wake it up!”
Electric Blood is out now via Earache. Biters tour the UK in September
