Man The Mighty: Hard Rock Poetry straight out of Carpentersville

Rampaging straight out of the suburbs of Chicago comes one of the freshest hard-rock acts in recent memory. "Man the Mighty", an independent hard rock group composed of vocalist Derek Smith, guitarist Tim Tournier, bassist Tyler Nelson, and drummer Matt Harmoning, can easily be compared to bands like "Breaking Benjamin," "Rise Against" and even "Linkin Park" at times, but their sound is uniquely their own. With a destructive guitar and perfectly orchestrated vocals, "Man the Mighty" aims to push the musical envelope and frankly, they are easily on their way.

Their new album "Beneath the Skin" recently hit stores and is on its way to iTunes. The guys have a perfect un aderstanding of hard rock music. The guitar riffs rip through each song with incredible power, yet don't detract the attention from the deep and harmonious vocals. A strong bass and drum ensemble accompany each song creating near perfect syncopation.

The production values are impressive for such an independent act. The mix job is at the professional level and there is some very interesting use of distortion effects in songs like "Over You" and "Tear Me Down." It is with their masterful production values that they have managed to carve their own space in the hard-rock niche. Anyone can jam on a guitar and slam some drums, but to make it come together as well as "Man The Mighty" takes some real talent. This is not your average garage band.

Impressive is not enough to describe these guys. Emerging from pretty much out of nowhere, they are destined to take the music industry for a ride the moment they get their big break. Delivering a sound all their own, while still remaining familiar enough to be accessible, "Man The Mighty" is a guaranteed success. You can support them by checking out their website www.manthemighty.com and make sure to check them out at the Metro on Aug. 14.