Music

Getting to know: new Vegas bands Hidden Levels and Dark Black

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Hidden Levels
Photo: Spencer Burton

Named for the concealed paths within video games, Hidden Levels debuted July 25 at Same Sex Mary’s epic Fremont Country Club CD release extravaganza. Singer/guitarist Adam Grill, of Vegas-scene fave Twin Brother (now on an indefinite hiatus), has shifted gears slightly for the new project, which takes listeners on a shorter, more concise journey. Featuring Twin Brother drummer Brian Scanlan, Hidden Levels are your favorite sandwich, deconstructed—still delicious, just different. “I would say that it’s a lot more straightforward and aggressive,” Grill says.

Hidden Levels

Hidden Levels

Bassist Kevin Philips rounds out the trio, which has been honing in on material for the past 10 months. “We’ve just been mostly working on writing as many songs as we can, getting songs ready for an album,” Grill says. The frontman, who had been living in Logan, Utah, during much of Twin Brother’s run, moved back to Vegas last year. “It influenced me, going there and coming back,” Grill says. “Seeing the opposite spectrum of Vegas really changed my perspective.”

Hear Hidden Levels’ first live demos at hiddenlevels.bandcamp.com.

Savvy Vegas music fans also caught another new band at the SSM release party—Caravels spinoff Dark Black, comprising former members Dillon Shines (guitar/vocals), Matt Frantom (guitar/vocals) and George Foskaris (drums) along with bassist Kevin Oakley (Motolov Solution, A Crowd of Small Adventures).

Dark Black

Dark Black

For this project, the foursome exchanges hardcore tendencies for dark, melodic grunge and ’90s-influenced indie rock. Shines’ vocals and guitar riffs hint at Nirvana (hear: “On the Cusp”), but the band transcends that comparison with vocal harmonies and floating solos, intricate bass lines and fast percussion. “It’s just more what we’ve been into lately,” Shines says. “This project lets us be experimental with many different genres and still be loud and heavy if we want to—but also get really quiet and melodic.”

Dark Black recently recorded tracks at 11th Street Records, though the band says plans for an album are still up in the air. In the meantime, you can hear the band’s Live Demos From the Wild Blue Yonder, recorded at Shines’ house earlier this year, at wearedarkblack.bandcamp.com.

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