Rock music is a tough business. The livelihood of a musician is often intertwined with his efforts to satisfy the demands of record label executives, producers, management and countless other cogs in the commercial wheel. But what if a musician had nobody to answer to but himself? This is the question that Slave To The System set out to answer."Every one of us was getting tired of being a "slave" to the corporate system," says drummer Scott Rockenfield. Indeed, the members of Slave To The System have bled for the industry machine: Rockenfield has been performing for over 20 years with prog metal powerhouse Queensryche, where he first worked with guitarist/vocalist Kelly Gray, who is also adept in the producer's seat. Guitarist Damon Johnson and bassist Roman Glick did their time with radio-rock mainstays Brother Cane with Johnson also enjoying a current stint performing with Alice Cooper. Slave To The System became a musical vacation from the mandatory minutia. Johnson explains, "When we all met for the first time, we were just having a good time drinking coffee and jamming. I had been working with Kelly on a Brother Cane project and Kelly suggested we jam with Scott. Within three weeks we had written and recorded a whole album." The band's excitement about the resulting recordings is electrifying. "I'm on turbo about this whole thing... I'm a fan of this record," says Johnson. Rockenfield elaborates, "We formed a perfect organic musical relationship. With our combined expertise and experience, we knew we could do this by ourselves, on our own terms and our own time. We wrote some great songs with good melodies, strong riffs and hooks. Our stress-free sessions of just sitting down and writing really paid off."
The music speaks for itself. After sending out demos of the cd to various labels - "Just for shits and giggles," according to Johnson - Spitfire Records came to the table with vigor. Johnson says, "We are very stoked to feed off the enthusiasm from Spitfire." It is no wonder that a record label adept at handling hard rock and metal projects would take to the heavy, yet melodic, sound of Slave To The System. From the powerful buildup of the opening riff on "Stigmata" to the somber tone of "Walk The Line", Slave To The System grabs you by the ears and doesn't let go. "Ruby Wednesday" is a strong driving rocker, while the powerful acoustic balladry of "Abyss" and "Live This Life" will have any listener singing along. The ballsy crunch and band-defining lyrics of the title track make it the definitive Slave To The System song. A solid album throughout, fan will be waiting in anticipation to witness the power of a live Slave To The System performance.