Pantera-obsessed YouTuber Kayla Kent has shared a demo of her new band in the hopes of finding a singer – and she channels the spirit of Dimebag with grace and power.
Her hero-mirroring talents even saw her in the running to be part of Pantera’s much-anticipated reunion, eventually losing out to Dimebag’s close friend Zakk Wylde.
Perhaps Kent's near-miss has inspired her to push her chops down a more creative avenue, however, with a new band in the works. The shredder shared a demo of their first song, entitled Big Groovvy, and it sounds like an unreleased cut from Reinventing The Steel, full of sleek turns, chunky power chord riffs, and squealing licks.
The tone is impressively close to Dimebag’s signature scooped sound, and there’s a delicious wah-soaked solo for good measure.
It certainly fills the void Pantera left – even if former producer Sterling Winfield says it's “entirely possible” the current tribute lineup will release new music.
However, Kent’s new venture is currently missing one vital ingredient.
“I really don't want to do this this way, but I pretty much have no choice now,” she says in a new video. “In my two years of experience doing covers on YouTube, I get asked constantly 'Where's all your original music?'”
“We're primarily focused on just writing bangers,” she continues. “We're looking for someone who has the same thing in mind. The music that we wanna write is exactly as you'd expect. I like metal that has grooves and hooks, and that's what we're gonna set out to make.”
As much as her unwillingness to go public with her search is understandable, it isn’t a bad move, either. The Smashing Pumpkins did exactly the same thing when looking for a Jeff Schroeder replacement. An incredible 10,000 guitarists applied with Kiki Wong emerging victorious.
She points out that she has been publishing original music content on her channel, but after making “cute indie tracks” with the help of Garage Band MIDI drums, she's ready to go full-bore metal with a proper band.
The foundation for the band comes from herself, and her friends Matt and Renee on bass and drums, and, impressively, they've been jamming for 30 years now.
“In that time we've written some really cool stuff, but it's remained unfortunately unfinished because we don't have a singer,” the guitarist expands. “I've been trying to find a singer in private for a while now, and I've been really disappointed. Finding a singer is really fucking hard – it took years for Pantera to find Phil [Anselmo] after Terry [Glaze] left the band.”
Kent, then, is on the hunt for an “aggressive” vocalist who “fits the same vibe that we do”. However, the trio isn't looking for the band to take over their lives, with gigs here and there, the only real goal.
Kent may not get quite as many singers applying, but it is likely to make her search much easier.
Singers who like the sound of the project can email their audition tapes (read: WAVs) to kaylakentplaysguitar@gmail.com with the subject ‘BIG GROOVY AUDITION’.
Last year, Kent’s online fanbase helped her build her own Dime-honoring Kramer guitar after the luthier refused to get involved with her project, and the results were pretty damn impressive.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
“Like all young artists, sometimes you run into somebody that's one of your heroes”: Jerry Cantrell recalls the time he tried – and failed – to pass an Alice in Chains demo tape to Axl Rose
“The ‘industry’ strings you along with these empty accolades but labels paying you on time can keep your life from falling apart”: Beyoncé session guitarist Justus West says awards don't pay the bills – and labels need to take more accountability
