Bishop – Centipede Review

Fairly new to the rock/nu-metal scene, the boys from Bishop have been working pretty hard through out the last year. They first appeared as a trio of brothers in 1999 consisting of Tommy Semeraro (lead vocals/lead guitar), “The Root” Rocco Semeraro (drums), and “Buca” Vinny Padula (bass). They released a four-song demo and played at the Woodstock festival that summer, but didn't complete their quartet status until the fall of 1999 when “DC” Dan Castle (rhythm guitar/ backing vocals) joined the group. It was after Dan joined that the guys completed their first full length CD entitled “Centipede“.

Track Listing: Get Me Down Got The Way Space Rocker Lower Change The Scenery “83” Back Again Dead Time Fighting You Wasted Youth Tear Inside Out Open Road Love Crush Rating: 3/5

When I first popped this disc into my CD player I was not expecting what I heard. I was blown away by Tommy's voice; it's very powerful and filled with emotion. I have to say I was quite surprised because if you've seen Tommy he looks like he should be out playing rugby not standing behind a microphone and belting out rock tunes. I love it when first impressions are wrong. And let me make it clear that even though Tommy is the star, he isn't the only one with talent. “The Root” rips it up on the drums through out the whole cd, while “Buca” keeps us entertained as he beats away on his bass, and DC does an awesome job backing up Tommy on vocals and adding more sound with a second guitar. These guys have all got a little something going on that collectively is quite impressive. If I had to compare them to some one I'd say they were a mix of a harder Alice in Chains and Sound Garden, topped off with a little Danzig. This is a true rock band, and by that I mean there's no DJ, there's no co-singer who just raps, and Tommy actually sings; he doesn't just scream things you can't even understand.

This CD has a lot of good tracks on it but “83” and “Change the Scenery” really stand out in my mind. These songs are radio ready! “Change the Scenery” has an awesome guitar solo and could easily be mistaken for Sound Garden, although the ending does drag a bit. While “83” is a little slower, it hooks you right away. Tommy's voice is amazing on this track, he sings like an angel in a rock n' roll heaven. It's one of those songs that you hear once and you find yourself walking around singing it, desperate to find out who it is. Other songs to watch out for – “Space Rocker”, “Dead Time”, and “Wasted Youth”.

It's not that often that an indie band comes along that has there shit together as much as Bishop does. Not only have they come up with an awesome album that is solid and laden with talent, they also produced it themselves and have created their own web site ( www.bishopmusic.com ). They've already got the talent, so if they keep up the hard work I imagine that success will be hurling their way very soon.

Hopefully Bishop will be coming to LA soon so we can see what they're made of on stage. My guess is that they'll please the eyes just as much as they please the ears. All rock radio stations should take notice now, cause these guys are on their way to becoming a hot commodity. So don't say I didn't warn you!

Miss Doubtfire
shannon@unearthed.com