Year Long Disaster

Given this hard-rock power trio's back story -- they come from L.A. and singer Daniel Davies' dad is Dave Davies from the Kinks -- you might suspect they don't have what it takes to deliver the goods. But you'd be wrong. In a metal era that increasingly looks down on singers who can actually sing and rhythm sections that can actually groove, they churn out a stew that would have held its own in the grunge '90s, the big-haired '80s, the dazed-and-confused '70s, the psychedelic late '60s, you name it. It probably helps that the players have decent rock resumes: In the '90s, bassist Rich Mullins served in underground troupes Karma to Burn and then Speedealer; drummer Brad Hargreaves also beats skins for the sometimes underrated, one-time hit-making machine Third Eye Blind. Since their beginnings in 2005, they've managed a rocking debut EP and a couple respectable albums, and have toured with big names Motorhead, the Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver, and the Cult (perhaps blowing a couple of those old coots off the stage), along with like-minded journeymen such as the Sword, Totimoshi, and Clutch.