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Murdervan are driving to the top of the heavy music mountain
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If they held a big gala and gave out local music awards with categories like “Louder Than Everything Else” or “Hardest Band to Pigeonhole” or “Most Deserving of More Attention” then New Haven’s sons of pure rock fury, Murdervan, would be at the backstage press conference holding a lot of shiny trophies. Then again these guys have the tendency to appear so capricious in their live setting that they would potentially pull a Marlon Brando and just send someone to protest it all for them.
Formed nearly a decade ago by vocalist/guitarist Shaun Bowen the band didn’t solidify their line-up until roughly four years ago when the rhythm section of Adoni on drums and Andre Roman on bass signed on. Utilizing almost a decade’s worth of hard knocks Murdervan has formulated a sound so unique that even the best music journalists have had a hard time pinpointing exactly what scene they should be trolling for fans. They are the absolute perfect blend of punk rock aesthetics, the bombast of Motorhead, the cerebral inhibitions of bands like Jucifer, and the ethos of classic indie grunge outfits like Sonic Youth and early Soundgarden.
“We love Motorhead of course,” says Roman “but we’re kind of all over the place as far as influences. Especially individually…anywhere from Bad Brains, Black Sabbath, Melvins, Television, Pentagram to Sonic Youth or Thin Lizzy. The list can go on for awhile.”.jpg)
Make no mistake though; Murdervan is no hastily contrived mish-mash of sounds that comes across as sloppy or pretentious to listeners. It’s quite the contrary. This is a band that knows exactly what they want and they meticulously and painstakingly cobble together songs that exude the very best of all the aforementioned artists, yet somehow manage to craft it in a way that is all their own. There is an old adage in the music industry that if you borrow from one band you’re a thief but if you borrow from a hundred you’re a genius. Murdervan are living proof of that.
Nowhere is their unique blend of punk-n-roll better on display than tearing up a stage in a seedy bar. They are one of the few bands from Connecticut to have already toured extensively throughout the US, doing so on three different occasions in support of their 2005 self-titled debut and their 2007 ‘Jaundice’ EP. The band has opened for everyone from Jucifer to, most recently, The Germs and have shared the stage locally with metal bands, hardcore bands, indie rock bands and everything else in between. So what type of bills does a band this inimitable belong on?
“We’ve gotten to the point where believe it or not it doesn’t matter.” says Roman “I think most of the bands we play with are in the same boat as we are no matter what style they are and that always gets us a positive response.”
Currently the band is hard at work writing material for their next full-length album and booking regional shows throughout the Mid-Atlantic and New England. With an eye to having a new album and another full US tour under their belts before the end of the year they are also hoping to have their first proper record deal in place as well.
Murdervan is one of the few heavy bands coming out of the area with a legitimate chance to take things to a wider (and bigger) audience. Only time will tell if they can grab the national attention they so rightly deserve. It’s highly recommended that if you are within driving distance you catch one of their two tune-up shows – July 18th at Café Nine in New Haven and August 7th at Cherry Street Station in Wallingford, CT.
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