Car Bomb - Live In Santa Cruz

For those of you into progressive metal who don’t know Carbomb, you absolutely should. They’re doing things musically that are so progressive and out there they should probably be illegal. Since 2002 the band has been taking heavy music and turning it inside out, flipping it upside down and generally twisting up what most traditional music consists of. From the 2007 debut album Centralia through 2023’s live album Live In Santa Cruz, Carbomb has been bringing the heavy with their signature brand of beautifully erratic power.

Having never had the pleasure of seeing the band live, I was super pumped to get to hear these tracks live, captured at the highest grade. This band is UNBELIEVABLY good. Individually, the members are all top flight. Together though, they’re a musical force to be reckoned with. Michael Daffner’s vocals swing between terrifyingly brutal and silky clean. Jon Modell’s bass playing is disgustingly strong and he’s got the tones to match. You could build a mountain on the foundation Jon puts down. Constant-beast-mode drummer Elliot Hoffman brings parts that are locked in with absolute mechanical precision and are so involved it’s difficult to wrap your head around. He is REALLY FUCKING GOOD. Last but certainly not least is the guitar madman Greg Kubacki. This guy has taken guitar playing to the next level with his insane pure ability paired with cutting edge tech. The stuff he comes up with is nothing short of extraordinary. Incredible talent. (Did I mention that these guys have built a ton of their mics and gear by hand themselves? Who the fuck does that? Carbomb, that’s who.)

One of the things that is most impressive to me is that they don’t play to a click, live or in the studio. (For the uninitiated out there, a click is a time-keeping metronome that the band can hear that keeps everyone playing together.) The tempo swings and cold stops are executed so perfectly it’s crazy. They’re completely locked. Carbomb is definitely a next-level band and this album is a great representation of what they’re all about. The production is excellent and makes for a great listen.

9 out of 10. A beastly fucking record.

-John