Chambers, ‘Old Love’

New Jersey is a breeding ground for some of the best hardcore and metal, and I'm not just saying that as a lifelong resident of the Garden State. Dirty Jerz's own Chambers are set to release their debut album, 'Old Love,' on June 22 via digital means. The music is crusty, garage-tinged punk rock, complete with Motörhead riffs and whiskey-marinated vocals.

The band started when drummer Vincent Fiore and guitarist Gregg Kautz meshed Fiore's pulse-driven style with Kautz's love for '70s rock. "It's something that I was bred by and can be much accredited to drummers like Mitch Mitchell and Dave Grohl," says Fiore. "I learned to play drums by ear, and many of their recordings gave me the basis of my style today." The pair stumbled upon John Pinho, an old friend of Kautz's. Pinho's different approach to guitar allowed the trio to adopt a fresh style of writing. After recruiting bassist Jesse Mariani, they began collaborating on ideas while searching for the final piece of the puzzle: a vocalist. Chambers found him in the form of Dan Pelic, who saw the "seeks singer" posting on a local music message board.

A self-recorded demo and a July 2009 show with U.K. punk rock pundits Gallows, performed in Pelic's 110-degree New Brunswick basement -- New Brunswick basement shows are the stuff of legend, and all you have to do is ask Thursday -- later, Chambers were on their way. Even the dudes in Gallows were so impressed with their set that they took the band's 'Earthquake Sessions' demo back to the U.K., where local press and radio picked up on it.

"I think the New Brunswick basement scene is so popular because of the 'family' vibe you tend to get from experiencing these shows on the regular," Fiore told Noisecreep. "Most of the shows are posted with limited info, giving you the lineup and date, but the location comes from word of mouth. It helps to keep the shows from getting shut down and requires a tad more effort from people who want to attend the show. Most of the basements are lucky if they can hold 50 people, but i've seen a few that packed people into every inch of available space."

Fiore reveals that Pelic "had some of the most memorable shows at his 'Death City' basement in New Brunswick. The Number Twelve Looks Like You, the Dillinger Escape Plan, and our first show ever... at 110 degrees, over 100 people and no one seemed to mind. Getting to see bands like that in their rawest form is amazing. No stage, a s---ty PA system and the occasional gas line that you can swing from ... it doesn't get anymore raw than that. I've found that we have given some of our best performances in settings like that. You get to lose yourself in the chaos."

The band halted the chaos and performing for a hot second, only because they wanted to work on new material. They recorded at Treehouse Sound in Jersey City in late Fall. They aimed to "capture the passion and sheer aggression that we express at one of our live performances," Fiore said in a statement. "We went in not knowing how we would translate our dirty demos into a more polished recording. After five months of hard work, I can honestly say that this record captured the message we are trying to get across. I love the fact that it doesn't sound like a majority of today's over-produced mall metal. We are trying to touch upon something different and hope people can find a release from the monotony of today's cookie cutter melodies ... and haircuts."

'Old Love,' which snaps like the jaws of an alligator on a mid-sized prey, will be available at digital platforms like Rhapsody, Amazon and iTunes on June 22.