Blue Snaggletooth

Heard the news? Rock & roll isn’t dead after all. Billing themselves as purveyors of “Psychedelic D&D Rock & Roll,” Ann Arbor, Michigan’s Blue Snaggletooth combine elements of hard rock, heavy metal, and psychedelia (all pre-1975), and fuse them with lyrics inspired by classic sci-fi and fantasy; while the results are likely to please anyone into stoner rock, Blue Snaggletooth have no truck with irony or a tongue-in-cheek look at the past, and instead embrace their classic influences to build a sound that’s physically powerful but with plenty of sinewy groove. Taking their name from a minor character (and a highly collectable action figure) in the Star Wars universe, Blue Snaggletooth were formed in 2009 by guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Chris “Box” Taylor, a Michigan-based musician who has previously worked with cosmic punks Mazinga, powerful retro-rockers the Avatars, and Powertrane, a soulful hard rock band led by Michigan rock legend Scott Morgan. Looking to connect with his influences in hard rock and vintage metal, Taylor teamed up with guitarist Jess Willyard, bassist Ian Harris, and drummer Ian “Pit Viper” Sugierski to form the first lineup of Blue Snaggletooth. After making a name for themselves on the Midwest club circuit, Blue Snaggletooth released their first album, Dimension Thule, in August 2011. While Dimension Thule was enthusiastically reviewed and fared well enough to sell out its initial press run, personal commitments led to the band splintering not long after the album was released. But you can’t keep a good beast down, and Taylor has resurrected BST with a new lineup that’s even heavier and more impressive than the first. With new members Casey O’Ryan on Guitar, Joe Kupiec on bass, and Mike Popovich on Drums, the follow-up full length Beyond Thule was released in Oct. of 2014. The album garnered high praise from the Stoner Rock / Metal scene. In 2015, Blue Snaggletooth signs to Ripple Music and works on material for 2 new separate releases – Ripple’s 12″ Split series “The Second Coming of Heavy”, slated for a Spring 2016 release, and an independent 3 song EP / limited edition cassette called “The Last Voyage of Amra” set for a Dec. 2015 release. If anyone is proving that you can honor hard rock’s past while pumping fresh blood into its future, it’s Blue Snaggletooth. Hop on board their spacecraft while there’s still room for new riders. Rock music