Artist description Specimen-X is a young, all original Boston based hard rock act which lives for the artistry of music and performance and thrives on energy, being noted for their intense live performances and stage presence as well as their music. The band's diverse sound redefines ”hard rock”, synthesizing riveting hard rock, funk/fusion, and razor sharp metal thrash and hardcore to create a ``signature brand of unpredictable electric rock", giving songs a driving, grooving, melodic hard rock sound.

Music Style Progressive Hard Rock / Alternative / Metal / Hardcore

Musical Influences Dream Theater, Metallica, Alice in Chains, Pantera, Nine Inch Nails, Faith No More

Similar Artists Faith No More, Creed, Tool, Alice in Chains, Staind, Monster Magnet, Metallica, Fear Factory, Sepultura, Disturbed, DoubleDrive

Artist History Founded in 1995, the band has established a large following in the Boston, MA area and across New England. Specimen-X has regularly played shows at the well-known Middle East in Cambridge, MA, Bill's Bar, The Roxy Theater and Mama Kin in Boston, Sharky's in Nashua, NH, The Worcester Palladium and college events and music festivals alongside some of Boston's premier heavy metal acts and nationally recognized recording artists. The band recorded their debut 6 song EP, "Don't Look Back" in the summer of 1997, and after months of development, writing and touring has followed up on that album in 1999 with the full-length "The Final Hour", featuring all new songs reflecting the band's unique style and energy. The album is being distributed by the German indie label Roddog Records (www.roddog.com) while the band continues to play shows across New England. The album has received airplay on Boston's WBCN and WAAF as well as various college radio stations across the country. In the Spring of 2000, Specimen-X took _first place_ in Massachusetts Communications College's Battle of the Bands which featured a field of 75 national acts competing.

Group Members Sean Gallagher - Vocals * Jim Dillon - Guitar / Backing Vocals * Paul Murray - Drums * Brad Horion - Bass * John Malcolm - Guitar * (Tracks from "The Final Hour" feature Terry O'Brien on keyboard and Scott Harrington on bass)

Instruments Electric Guitar, Electric Bass, Drums, Vocals, Keyboard/Synth/FX

Albums The Final Hour [1999] , Don't Look Back - EP [1997], Demo [2000]

Press Reviews "...Atmospheric, keyboard-laden alt-metal with Metallica-esque guitars. Range is good, but Rock is better, and I like SpecX best when lead singer Sean Gallagher unfetters his inner Satan and lets himself go apesh*t while the band kicks into hard 'n' heavy funk-metal mode. "Shockwave" may be the best this genre has served up since the heyday of Faith No More, but stick around for the sorta-hidden bonus track, a live version of the band's incendiary testosterone-soaked anthem `Wench.'" -Jim Testa, JerseyBeat Magazine, Summer 1999 ******************** "...Some of the songs are mellow, some rock, and there are a few that really rip at you, agonizingly heavy and soul-crushing... Specimen-X is good, talented, tight, interesting, varied in style and high in quality…" - Brett Tribe, mp3critic.com ************** ``Not many bands can successfully pull off walking the fine line between alternative rock and heavy metal while keeping things interesting, but this Boston area band does so in the most entertaining way. The song's tempos intensely combine hard rock and metal, which is powered by a little funk to make it all sound "groovy." These guys remind me of Faith No More and Pantera, but Specimen-X adds a more melodic madness to their sound. - Denis Sheehan, Askew Reviews, November 1999 ************** "Long, metal-tinged songs with hints of Faith No More, Pantera, and classic metal & punk, with a touch of hardcore thrown in. The lyrics are thrown at you in poetic schemes of hope and despair... The best part is that they seem to be worried about creating their own sound rather than following the lead of other hot bands of the moment. They're worth checking out, especially when you're tired of the straightahead hardcore or Korn-type clones." - Frank Phobia of ANTHROPHOBIA, June 1999 ************** "These brawny college boys from the Boston 'burbs eschew the breakbeats and hip-hop trappings of New-Metalheads like Limp Bizkit and Korn for a more progressive sound on their self-produced, self-released debut full-lengther. Faith No More fans will especially dig the earthy bombast of "Shockwave", with its moody keyboard fills and heavy guitars, while the moshpit crew will dive headfirst into "Wench"... [which] mixes equal parts hard funk and hardcore... this young (average age: 21) combo seems determined to stake out its own distinctive sound in the metal underground rather than following the pack and blindly imitating Godsmack or Korn. Tie that together with the bands' commanding stage presence, awesome graphics, and a state-of-the-art web page, and Specimen-X has all the tools to become a real contender over the next few years." - THE NOISE (www.thenoise-boston.com), November 1999 ************** [full text and more reviews on the band's web site!]

Additional Info * Specimen-X encourages you to email them [specimenx@hotmail.com] and visit their extensive web site, Specimen-X Online. The band greatly appreciates fan-based input on their songs; they're always writing.

Location Boston, MA - USA

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