Interview with drummer Glenn Mungo of Lansdowne

Every once in a while you are wowed. You go to a show expecting to watch other, more established bands and enjoy their usual debauchery when one of the opening, unknown acts steals the show. This is exactly what happened last summer at 94.1 WJJO’s Band Camp. Annually one of the best outdoor festivals in the Midwest featuring some of the biggest acts in the business including Five Finger Death Punch, Stone Sour, Mudvayne, Clutch, All That Remains and many more.

A band out of Boston named Lansdowne took stage to kick off last year’s band camp and to be honest, I wasn’t ready for what I heard. Usually opening acts for Band Camp are definitely quality bands, but Lansdowne blew me away. Their music was addictive and their stage presence was immaculate and from that day I knew I had to learn more about those guys. So here we are 6 months after I first saw them play and finally I got the chance to talk with their drummer Glenn Mungo to talk about their album Blue Collar Revolver, his most memorable moment of 2011, and what their plans are for 2012.

Aaron Manogue: Who would you say are some of your influences are? Are these influences evident in any of your albums/songs?
Glenn Mungo: I've had Art oF Dying "Vices and Virtues" and Five Finger Death Punch's "War Is the Answer" on repeat for a while, and the band is generally listening to Sirius Octane when we're in the van. We all listen to a lot of the bands we tend to play with as well like Sevendust, Papa Roach, Halestorm, Adelitas Way, Pop Evil , Staind, 10 Years, and, believe it or not, we tend to rock out to some country every now and again.

Signum A.D. "The Unsilenced" Review

It's extremely uncommon for a new band to have the backing of big players within the music industry on their first album, let alone the fact of having those big players put their own hard work into something basically unproven. Signum A.D. is one of the very lucky few who have had this fortune and clearly there was good reason for Brett Hestla (producer;Framing Hanley, Dark New Day), Kato Khandwala (mixed; Breaking Benjamin) and Tom Baker (mastered; Sevendust, 10 Years) to commit their time to Signum A.D.'s first album, The Unsilenced.

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The kick-ass Kansas quartet made sure that they followed the feeling that first impressions are important and in that case I say, "Welcome to the party Signum A.D!" The Unsilenced starts off with a short, twisted instrumental titled "The Calling" that serves as a precursor to the emotion and strength behind the entire record.

The following track "Walls That Falls" has all the makings of a radio hit and to me could easily serve as the albums first single. Caution: Well written lyrics and an intense guitar riff serving as the backbone of this musical animal may cause you to have this song caught in your head for days. The album doesn't lighten up on bad ass rock n' roll after that. "Free," "At The Seams" and " Sad But Not Forgotten" simply add to the albums rock n' roll strength, and trust me it is Hercules strong, especially considering it's their first album.

The lyrics are pristine and have a range from kicking your ass with growling screams to stealing your girlfriend by serenading her with acoustic-accompanied whispers. This all on top of the fact that the drums and guitar create a unique sound without sounding like they're trying too hard, they're just kicking your ass with their own feeling and sound. I wouldn't just suggest this album and band to my fellow rock n' rollers, but I beg and plead you to check them out and give your dirty little rockstar eardrums a little treat with Signum A.D.'s "The Unsilenced."