I walked into the October 14 Hard Drive Live show at the House of Blues just as the locals in Taking Dawn were finishing up their set, but the throwback hard-rock act is clearly going places. Formerly known as 7th Son, Taking Dawn is on an extended tour opening for popular metal bands All That Remains and Lacuna Coil, and has been signed to renowned hard-rock label Roadrunner Records, with a debut (titled Time to Burn) scheduled for a January 26 release.

Taking Dawn’s sound borrows heavily from the ’80s hard rock of bands like Mötley Crüe and Skid Row, coated with a heavier edge. With a Mark Slaughter wail to go along with his Mark Slaughter hair, singer-guitarist Chris Babbitt is carrying on a Vegas tradition. “Las Vegas is represented by The Killers and Panic! At the Disco. There is no real rock ‘face’ here anymore,” Babbitt says in the band’s official bio. “Slaughter was the last rock band, so I feel like we have a lot to carry on that end.”

Judging by the two songs I saw (one original, plus a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain”), Slaughter’s legacy is in good hands.