Formed in 2002, the band met in Los Angeles, US, featuring Joby J, Ford (guitars), Jorma Vik (drums), Matt Caughthran (vocals) and James Tweedy (bass guitar/backing vocals). Tweedy let the band in 2007, replaced by Brad Magers and also joined by new guitarist, Ken Horne. Right off the bat, The Bronx came out swinging with their hardcore punk sound full of bravado and swagger. After only 12 live performances, they were offered a record deal with Island/Def Jam, ye The Bronx continued to release music on their own label, White Drugs.
After several demos, The Bronx began work on their debut album in 2003, utilising the talent of Guns ’n’ Roses guitarist, Gilby Clarke, as producer. The result was their self-titled release on the label, Ferret Records. Three years later, their second effort, also self-titled, arrived on Island Records. Through relentless touring alongside the likes of Priestess, the Riverboat Gamblers and Wires on Fire, The Bronx made a strong name for themselves through their energetic and incendiary live performances. Alongside The Bronx, Joby J. Ford and Matt Caughthran also featured in the side project, The Drips, who have enjoyed continuing success alongside their original project.
For their third album, “The Bronx III,” the band left Island Records, releasing instead on Original Signal Recordings. Following a successful acoustic set, the members of The Bronx decided to create a mariachi-style, alter ego band, Mariachi el Bronx, who released their first recording in 2009. The band have subsequently released three albums under this moniker, all received with critical acclaim. In 2013, they returned as The Bronx, offering the triumphant “IV,`’ which had a distinct hard rock sound that moved away from their earlier, punk driven sound.
It’s understandable for the term “heavy music” to conjure up images of acrobatic guitar solos and time signatures that a super computer couldn’t handle. So much heavy music throughout rock history has a pronounced technical edge to it, from Zeppelin through to Maiden, from Pantera through to Mastodon. Some of these sounds need a master’s degree in engineering to decode before one has a hope in hell of enjoying it. However, some bands don’t need any of that. Some bands can pack a punch that could level a skyscraper with power chords and passion alone, and no other band sums up this approach quite as perfectly as Los Angeles’ hardcore heroes The Bronx. However, as heavy as it might get, The Bronx are also living proof that there can be a vast difference between heavy and joyless. The songs might burst your eardrums and if one is not careful, the pit might leave a lasting mark, but the bands firebrand of a frontman Matt Caughthran makes sure that the atmosphere is never anything other than joyous and inclusive. All this isn’t even taking into account how tight and almost telepathic the whole band is at pummelling out their brand of holler-along punk rock classics. They alone would make The Bronx a live act few could rival, however, with the other aspects? They’re truly unmissable.