BLACK WATER RISING is a collection of soul baring, angst ridden, riff heavy material that is proudly anchored in the foundations of traditional hard rock song writing. Giant guitar driven monster riffs served up on a bed of crushing grooves with soaring melodic vocals and big hooks. Basically, NO FRILLS RIFF ROCK! Lyrically the message is socially and politically driven by the dark times we live in. With darkness seemingly growing by the day, BLACK WATER RISING is a name that fits this band like a glove. The philosophy of BWR is simple, they are not looking to reinvent the wheel, they just want to give it a much needed alignment in these musically stale times.
BLACK WATER RISING was formed from the ashes of various national touring acts. After releasing two self produced albums nationwide with a band called Dust To Dust, singer songwriter Rob Traynor locked himself away in his Brooklyn, New York recording studio, later emerging with a collection of songs that would become the seeds of BLACK WATER RISING’s debut album which they would unleash in 2010. The album would achieve the #1 slot on Amazon.com’s Hard Rock Chart upon release.
BLACK WATER RISING received heavy airplay on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Octane channel for the singles “Brother Go On” and “No Halos”. The album reached the #6 slot on the Top 20 airplay chart for the channel and “Brother Go On” also cracked the top 40 on the Media Base Active Rock Radio Chart.
BWR has played shows and toured with Hellyeah, Kill Devil Hill, King’s X, Monster Magnet, Ace Frehley & others. Their tour schedule also brought them to the 2010 South By Southwest Festival in Austin, TX performing at High Times Magazine’s Doobie Awards show where BWR won the 2010 High Times Doobie Award for “Best Rock/Alternative Artist,” beating out such tough and respected competition as Staind, Eagles of Death Metal, The Mars Volta and Danko Jones.
BWR followed up the critically acclaimed self-titled debut with their sophomore effort, Pissed And Driven released in 2013. It represents what many would describe as another honest, barebones rock album. It received rave reviews and was included on numerous top album lists. The first offering from Pissed and Driven, “Show No Mercy” was #5 most added on the CMJ Loud Rock Chart, top 10 at many college radio stations and in heavy rotation at Nationally Syndicated Cable channel Music Choice reaching #1 on their Metal Chart. The band’s video for “Dance With The Devil” spent 15 weeks on Noisecreep’s Battle Royale Top 10 Video Countdown.
Invigorated and eager to capitalize on the success of their first two albums, the band’s new material promises to be more riff heavy song writing with hooks and catchy choruses to pull you in all while retaining a musical identity of their own.