Mongrel
Declamation

By Helen Hosie

Boston Massachusetts based aggressive, punk/rock/metal band Mongrel, consisted of Adam Savage (guitar), Rev (bass), Dave K (drums) and Jessica Sierra (vocals) when "Declamation" was recorded, now with a new bassist in Micah Maltais the band strive on with their female frontwoman Jessica Sierra, and boy can this girl sing.

Jessica joined forces with Mongrel following the departure of her male predecessor, in my opinion an epic move by founder and guitarist Adam Savage.  She pushed Mongrel up ten fold and the decision was made to re record some of the tracks on their past EP "New Breed of Old School" (which was reviewed by the daddy of The Rockpit, Shane Pinnegar). Now 2011 brings us their eagerly awaited "Declamation".

There are some songs that should never be covered but Mongrel nailed The Misfits "Dig Up Her Bones" to perfection, the vocal talent of Jessica Sierra is mind blowing and she mesmerises on this song. The band and recording seem more polished now, with a little of their edge having been rubbed away.

The rawness of "New Breed…" made them stand out above the rest. The second track that I have chosen was the song called "Start The Riot".  I liked this song, the only thing bad I have to say is I wasn't sure where the song was going, it was rock then headed down the punk route. Vocally Jess shows the range of her vocal talents and proves she can turn her hand to any genre thrown at her.

All in all a good EP. I can’t wait to hear the album which as of yet has no release date.

Sadly since the release of "Declamation" vocalist Jessica Sierra stepped down as frontwoman of Mongrel. On behalf on The Rockpit and myself we wish both Mongrel and Jess "All The Best" in their future endeavours.