The early to mid-90s spawned some of the greatest musicians of our generation, giving us artists like Chris Cornell, Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley, but with all of those artists mentioned you can see a common trend, we lost them all to their devices before their time. The same can almost be said of Jibe frontman, Joe Grah.
Formed during tail end of 1993 in Texas, Jibe saw much success early in their career. With their relentless touring schedules and on-stage antics, the band was creating a formula for success. With their toes on the edge of the cliff to go national and major record companies knocking on the door, the band disappeared. Vocalist, Joe Grah owes the band’s retracting from the spotlight to his own battles with addiction and the Rockstar lifestyle. Several times booking agents approached members of the band to “Get back together”, but for them it wasn’t about the money, it was more about doing it when the time was right, and finally the time was right.
The album Epic Tales Of Human Nature is a reflection of the 90s, the band creates a very heavily Soundgarden influenced sound, especially when it comes to the vocals for the songs. When writing the release, Grah stated that everything just came naturally to them, firing ideas back and forth, from one member to another to create the tracks.
For me, the release was a little rough in some places; there were a few songs that I had to skip because I just didn’t think they fit well with what the band was trying to create. However, the one track for me that stood out the most was “The Human Condition.” The song opens with guitar feedback before the drums kick in, moving the guitars into a chunky riff while the vocals punch in. The lyrical content of the song focuses mainly on the human race’s impact on our environment and each other, with the opening of the chorus stating, “Save the human race, before it’s too late”. I talked to Joe Grah about the song via audio interview, which you can listen to here.
Overall, I think that for a band that is slowly working their way back into the spotlight, they created a very good rock album. Is it great? I wouldn’t say that it is the greatest thing that I have ever heard, but it’s different. The lyrics have meaning and purpose, and I’m sure the band is still trying to work the rust out and get back into the flow that put them on major success’ doorstep. The album is available now and if you are a fan of Audioslave, you’ll probably want to check this one out. Epic Tales Of Human Nature is available via all major streaming and purchasing sites, as well on the band’s website.
