Press

  "It's been my experience that in the Boston music scene, dirty riff slinging ne're-do-wells like Hackman, Roadsaw, Bloodhorse, and the late, great Lamont were the exception, not the rule. But with the addition of Riff Cannon to the ranks, this may be changing. Their three song Mercury Mountain Sampler is so dialed into the fuzz rock aesthetic, I want to check and see if there's a “Little Sweden” section of town, and if there is, nominate this band as acting mayor. The first and last tracks are of the “amped up and ornery” variety – Unida and early Dozer are the first benchmarks to come to mind - whereas “The Oracle” prefers a more sonic depth charge approach (if they tacked on a six minute solo at the end, it would be the quintessential closing number). In either case, these guys are a welcome addition. I'm thinking the next time they're playing, I ought to stick around instead of sneaking out early."

Review by John Pegoraro (StonerRock.com)

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    "Riff Cannon could be sludge's next big thing, with catchy riffs, thick tones and melodies that, given time, could be Torch-y. Promising!"

Reviewed by Cosmo Lee, Decibel Magazine April 2009

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  "If a rock band chooses a name like Riff Cannon either has the balls to keep the promises or is planning to commit suicide at the first gig! In the case of the Bostonian Riff Cannon band, promises have a lot of chances to be fulfilled!
Riff Cannon is a young band that released its debut full-length album, Mercury Mountain, in summer 2009.
  The band’s sources of inspiration listed in myspace are as varied as the sounds contained in the debut album: Black Sabbath, Neurosis, Leafhound, Captain Beyond, Atomic Rooster, Cave In, Bloodrock, Hawkwind, Sleep, Torche, Dead Meadow, Pink Floyd, Electric Wizard, Witchcraft, Thin Lizzy, Om, Queens of the Stone Age, Led Zeppelin, Earth, Deep Purple, Groundhogs, Cactus, YOB, Witch, Pentagram... The album is highly enjoyable and varied and tracks cover styles from bluesy fuzzy stoner to heavy doom to space rock. I must say I enjoyed the riff-rich juicy, dirty stoner-doom tracks more than the spacey ones, although the latter are nice as well. I mean, they say “riff” and I want “riff” …
Definitely a band to check out!" 

Reviewed by Mari (SludgeSwamp)

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  "...It said on the front of the demo “...could be sludges next big thing... catchy riffs and thick tones... promising...” from a local critic. I partially agree with this statement, the riffs found here are better than catchy, the're utterly brilliant, and yes the tone is great too. Riff Cannons music isn't really sludge, its sludge influenced, but not really sludge. Also, Riff Cannon could be the next big thing if they keep putting out metal of this quality.

  As mentioned before, the riffs and guitars on this demo are amazing, simply put. Their catchy, heavy, and well put together which is more than most bands can say. The guitar riffs also have a flow quality to them, no chugging one riff and then abruptly switching to the next, all the parts just work well and don't feel awkward or forced. The bass on the demo for the most part is up to par with the guitar playing, but I was always wishing the bassist would do more, as he is mixed well, and some extra creativity in that area would go that extra mile.

  As for the other area of the rhythm section, the drums are above average and try something different. There are constant fills done to great effect, and the drums forgo the ordinary double bass pedal assault of most bands in the genre and go for a more cymbal oriented approach. This is really refreshing and makes the drums a pleasure to listen to. The vocals are shouted, mean, and fit the music like a glove, giving the perfect emotion and sound the entire length of the demo. I wish I could tell you the lyrics were top notch and were socially aware without seeming pretentious, but the demo I bought did not come with a vocal booklet and I cant understand the vocalist so, yea.

  The production is really good for a demo creating the perfect tone and having each instrument nearly balanced in the mix, but for some reason the drums are pretty quiet which is a shame because they're so good. Riff Cannon's sound for the most part is Sludge influenced modern metal, except on the middle song Oracle, which is all sludge. It's fast paced, angry, and overall sounds like an early, heavier version of Baroness. I really hope these guys get popular, fast, because this demo left me wanting more. Despite only being about ten minutes Riff Cannon's debut demo is great and I can't wait to see what they do next."

Reviewed by Kyzar (SputnikMusic.com)

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  "I put this record on and the first thing I noticed was how cool the drums sound............. Don't get me wrong, the guitars sound cool (and FUZZY!!!!!!!) but the drummer is an absolute beast and the engineer who recorded this album did a GREAT job of capturing those tubs.

  So, while listening to this album I was paying lots of attention to the beautiful sounding drums and struggling to pay so much attention to the guitar tone!!!!!

  When I awaken from my percussion fuelled trance I find myself in a psychedelic riff during the title track Mercury Mountain and I feel like I am in the middle of the film Flash Gordon righting with Brian Blessed while the world melts around me. Blues riffs flash 'arrow-like' past the head within my head and as my inner self ducks in fear the outer self raises a fist and extends the index finger, then seconds later the little pinky. My head starts to nod and then I smile, a smile in recognition of the fact that despite the Mogwai mellowness and over reliance on the guitarist's tremolo / chorus pedal this ROCKS."
 
Reviewed by Jon Davis (PlanetFuzz.com)

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"Make sure to wear your OSHA approved protective sleeveless jean jacket when Riff Cannon start firing off their monster stoner rock riffs."

Reviewer unknown, taken from All Music.com