9ELECTRIC

It all started with a song.

9Electric went into the studio in early 2018 to record a new song - their first time in the studio since member changes revamped their lineup months prior. They went in to write and record a song, and came out three days later with an unprecedented confidence, an undeniable chemistry, and the first indication of what their future held...

Welcome to Megalith, an album as true to the rock royalty that inspired it, as it is to the band members that created it. "Our only goal going into the studio was to write and record a song that defined what 9Electric is in the year 2018," says frontman Ron Underwood. "What we discovered was akin to addition by subtraction - new blood brought new energy, and Mike and I were able to write like we'd never written before." Joining Underwood and founding guitarist Mikey Lopez on the new album are returning bassist Ginny Eck (formerly of the band Eyeshine).

"We stripped our sound down and got back to basics, writing songs that stood out on their own and weren't dependent on programming and production," adds guitarist Mikey Lopez, who wrote every song on Megalith with Underwood. "We had a reputation for being an 'electronic' band, and that really never sat well with Ron and I. We were always more about Guns N' Roses and Rage Against The Machine than post-production blips, bells and whistles. This album is the most honest record of our career."
Integral to the process was Shawn McGhee, who recorded, produced, mixed and mastered the album in his Las Vegas studio. "We had a great experience making our last record, but in hindsight I can't help but feel like we stifled our producer by trying to have too much voice in how he did his job," recalls Lopez. "We learned from that with Shawn - we let him produce, and he let us be us. And the results speak for themselves."

"God And Man" crushes, delivering a knockout combination of cascading guitars, double-barreled bass and drums and lyrical dogma. It's a statement song, followed by a declaration in the form of "I Don't Want To Be," a Gavin Degraw hit that 9Electric defiantly make their own. "Stand In The Fire" and "The Light" have the makings of modern rock anthems, the latter featuring professional wrestler-turned-frontwoman Taylor-Morgan Lewis alongside Underwood on vocals, and "Disposable Love" is summertime ballad with a melancholic tan. "Breathe" pulses like an homage to Prodigy, while "Dark Matter" delves into the underbelly of a scorched psyche.

"The Megalith concept grew straight out of my obsession with lost civilizations and esoteric symbols," says Underwood of the album's theme. "Most of the lyrics are introspections into life's dualities - primarily good and evil, and how they work to create a third and even greater single entity beyond that given dimension."

9Electric started with a song - and unearthed Megalith.