Many Baby Boomers, some Gen X, and a few Millennials remember the days of MTV's Headbangers Ball when Metal, Glam, Arena Rock, Grunge, and Hair Bands ruled. Back in the day, there were many 'discussions' about whether the latest band's song was classified as Death Metal, Speed, Shred, Thrash, etc; sometimes, turning into major debates amongst friends, the analysis could go either way.
In the early 80s through mid 90s, music was original; concerts sold out; band t-shirts were worn with pride; and people didn't mind shelling out half a day's pay for hard copies of their favorite band's recordings. Eventually, videos faded out as MTV sold out, forcing 'reality shows' in our faces, and most responded by tuning out.
Fortunately, little by little, there are few bands reminiscent of the days of yore coming back into play, thanks to some die hard 'old schoolers' who respect the true art form of musical talent, and have passed their good taste and wealth of knowledge down to their successors.
Below: Alan Benek Hernández prize trophy guitar for winning the 2015 George Lynch Eddie Van Halen guitar contest
Needless to say, it's past time for this style of music to re-emerge, and the band 'Bibeau' may just be what revives the sound true metal maniacs have missed.
Paul Bibeau, CEO of Fade to Silence Records and owner of Hyper Active Services out of Whitehouse Texas, said, "This band is hailed as 'Prog Metal's New Breed."
Bibeau, pronounced (“be-bow”), is wowing audiences with their skill, advanced technical abilities coupled with their intense delivery, and the sheer strength of their original material.
With their new spin on Prog Metal, the band is most certainly pushing the boundaries of music. Forged with a firm grasp of their lineage, spirit and history of the music they adore, Bibeau is comprised of Drew Theiring - Vocals, Chris Ray - Bass, Alan Hernández - Guitar, Robin Bibeau - Guitar and Peyton Bibeau - Drums.
The band was formed five years ago by the Bibeaus, and the current members ages range from 16 to early 20s.
Paul, the proud Papa/Promoter/Manager of two of the young men, said, "Peyton is on the drum line in high school, and Robin is in college majoring in music. Most of their shows are on weekends, [so] as not to interfere with their studies. But during the summer, we've all traveled as far as my home state of Louisiana. They're very well received in New Orleans. In Baton Rouge, fans demanded originals over covers."
In regards to what's next, Paul said, "We're working on writing songs for the new record. More than likely, it won't be out until next year, but it's kind of like when it's there--it's there, and we'll know it."
Although their self-proclaimed genre is Heavy Metal and Power/Progressive, posted on Facebook is a video of them covering Led Zeppelin's classic "Achilles Last Stand."
"They wanted to do something challenging, and to my knowledge, no one else has ever covered that song," said Paul. Mentioned with the posting, the group said to fans, "We have decided to post this while everyone waits patiently for our new concept video with director Justin Mosley for our first single.'Mark This' is due in a few weeks."
At the end of April, as promised, they delivered.
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"The single and video are currently receiving air play internationally and rapidly gaining momentum in North America, Brazil, England, Italy, France, Germany and Finland," Paul said.
So far, the single produced by Luke Garrigus at Blackroom Studios, and video produced/directed by Justin Mosley at Dark Letter Entertainment, has close to 50k views on YouTube in just a few weeks.
As for the gist of the video, Paul said, "We wanted something that represented the French heritage and New Orleans feel as well as capture the theme of the MTV era."
Regarding band relations and traveling, Paul explained, "We're kind of a family where everyone gets along really well and just remain focused on the music."
He concluded, "We're really excited about coming to San Angelo as we heard the Deadhorse is a great venue to play."
On Saturday, July 9, the band will take the stage around 9 p.m., so get there early, stake out your spot, and be sure to visit the band's merch table. Sorry, but no CDs yet. For now, "the band has stayed ahead of the proverbial curve by launching a new Bibeau App for the iTunes and Google Play marketplaces." Links are available on their FB page.
For more information, check out the band's Facebook page, https://www.fadetosilencerecords.com and http://www.bibeauband.com.
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