South West based rock four piece Serenity parade a selection of big riffs, hammering rhythm and soaring vocals with an aim of following touchstones Jeff Buckley and Muse down the road to rock spotlight stardom.
Fronted by main songwriter Alex Gunner (gtr/voc) and featuring the prog metal six string and electric piano of Dervin alongside the time keepers par excellence of Ant (bass) and Jon (drums), Serenity take no prisoners when in overdrive (Reincarnation) yet can tempt you with melodic mood levellers (Interlude) as well as mix the two to maximum effect (Letters and Diaries). They grab you where it hurts and shave you bare. Potential to burn.
Musician Magazine
Serenity - The Psychle (unsigned) Four-piece Devon band show brimming promise on this album. Influenced by Pearl Jam, Metallica and Korn (there are even traces of great lost Australian band Superjesus in there), there are plenty of melodies snaking through their tracks.
With far too many current UK bands seeing The Libertines as some sort of scuzzy four-headed Moses bringing down the tablets from the mountain, it's good to see the power of metal is still not diminished and that 'Trilby Career Rock' isn't the only option.
Five Eight Magazine
Serenity are a four piece rock outfit who have been gigging in and around the Plymouth area since their line up was completed in early 2006. With a sound formed through influences such as Nirvana, Silverchair, Pearl Jam and Queens of the stone age, serenity provide an epic rock sound, immense metal moments, and emotionally charged glimpses throughout their debut album release “The Psychle”.
The use of an intro to the album builds suspense for the relentless power of track 2 “Affair”. With a solid percussive rumble throughout accompanied excellently by thunderous bass, “Affair” is a great example of Serenity’s style. They combine their huge musical sound with the powerful voice of vocalist Alex Jennings with great effect. Throughout the album there are changes in tempo and dynamics showing that Serenity are certainly not one trick ponies.
Serenity shift between corrosive riffs, guttural chord sequences and elegantly gentle melodies with ease throughout. The heavier moments of the album such as “Wild West Shootout” and sequences within “Letters and Diaries” are my personal favourites.
Final Track “Goodbye” combines the warm but intense sound of a piano with soothing melodies to show a completely different side to a musically talented and proficient band.
If anything detracts from the class of this album it would be an occasional lack of depth in the production quality. With a band which produces such a big sound I occasionally felt that the recording caused the songs to lose their presence slightly. This is however explicable with the knowledge that the release of this album and production of all the bands promotional material has been self funded. From what I can see the only thing which seems to have suffered from this may be the sound quality.
This album is a great package, filled with varying songs and approaches, but all with the Serenity style firmly stamped on it. Each track has its own signature from the band members and shows a band who are definitely all on the same page when it comes to writing music together. Whether this is due to the close relationship formed through their influences or the so called “Telepathy” the band have developed through knowing each other a long time, it is clear to see that Serenity have only promising times ahead of them if this release is anything to go by. If you are a fan of chest crushing exchanges between Drums, Bass and Guitar and the occasional solo, or breakdown thrown in then it is well worth checking out Serenity. Buy their album from www.serenity-official.co.uk
Room Thirteen
'The Psychle' is the beautifully put together debut album from Serenity, a name not too descriptive it would seem!! Four-piece Serenity sit squarely in the 'rock' box - a chunky bit of grunge, a tiny touch of metal, very big balls, heavy heart - solid hefty rock that's big, bold and brash.
Serenity have taken everything to the extreme here; the album is magnificently packaged, the press pack is suitably understated but informative and the music is rangy, busy and quite sophisticated. Certainly there's a lot goin' on here, every song seems rammed with sound and dynamics, every second is taken up by something electric, every inch is covered with the musical 'footprint' of Serenity!
Hey, there's no doubt that Serenity can handle themselves; these guys know their way round musical composition, they have great instrumental ability and awareness, they quite clearly play with unified spirit and they definitely mean business! Track fourteen, 'Goodbye', is a subtle little teaser that demonstrates the atmospheric and emotional side of this very credible, very likeable outfit.
'The Psychle' by Serenity is actually an amazingly competent and pretty compelling piece of work. Certainly, Serenity can't be accused of being lazy or short on ideas - 'The Psychle' is an immense work and probably as good as any other similarly ilked album out there. But, I still think there's more to come from this outfit - Serenity sound like a band with a plan, an ambition, a future. Serenity exude energy, Serenity rock tall, Serenity defy gravity - 'The Psychle' is complex, 'The Psychle' is full-on, 'The Psychle' is flat-out. 'The Psychle by Serenity is like an elevator that goes from halfway to heaven to halfway to hell - stuck in the middle, angry, hurt, looking for the answer, looking for the key. 'The Psychle' is ambitious - Serenity are focussed - focussed ambition should do well, focussed ambition should get the pot of gold at the end of that rainbow. 'The Psychle' by Serenity is an impressive piece of work - at times challenging but generally right on the button!
Peter J Brown aka Toxic Pete
'Serenity finished the night on a high. A massive high. A sublime, powerful, melodic, metallic, rocky, moving high. The crowd went nuts for the talented four-piece whose unique brand of heavy rock play adeptly to mainstream and alternative fans.'
Matt Fleming, The Herald 2007
'Wow, do these guys know how to work a crowd! They had the biggest reaction at the Herald’s Battle of the Bands semi-final and not surpassingly the joint top score in the competition, gaining 64.00 points. Using the word big to describe them is not an exaggeration, everything about their performance was just that, real showmanship…
Fresh Music Magazine 2007
'Serenity stole the night. The band, from Plymouth and Ivybridge, played some powerful hard rock and metal tunes which blew the crowd away. The lead guitarist was perfect and the singer the best so far.
Matt Fleming, The Herald 2007
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