It’s been a while since we checked in with Velocihamster—a.k.a. the “world’s first lap steel metal band” fronted by Milwaukee musician Sean Williamson. Back in 2018, Williamson released his debut record as Velocihamster, Wheel Of Steel. “Math-y, progressive, and heavy-shredding,” we wrote back then, “it makes a surprisingly convincing case for a lap steel guitar (in this case, a custom signature model from Morrell Lap Steel complete with pickups from EMG) replacing your standard Flying Vs and Joe Satriani Ibanezs.” There was even an instructional video!
Now, Velocihamster is back with another delightfully titled full-length record, Balls To The Wall. The nine-track offering features metal-by-way-of-lap-steel covers of Dick Dale’s “Misirlou” and Phish’s “First Tube,” as well as original compositions like “Trap,” “Wean,” and “Baba.” Williamson is joined by musicians Matt Turner, Alex Lofoco, Eric Kummer, Chris Oelke, Sean Smith, Matt Rhyner, Terry Jeanes Jr., and Paul Kneevers. Like its predecessor, Balls To The Wall is a weird and wild delight.
“With a raging pandemic putting all musicians in purgatory, my idle lap steel has proven to be the ‘devil’s playground,’ inspiring me to give this project the full attention it needed,” Williamson says in a press release. “The world needs more steel guitar superheroes and I hope this record can expose a new audience to its limitless potential.”
Balls To The Wall is available now on all streaming services. It will be released on vinyl in the near future.
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