New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Neanderthal Cyber Rock formed by Godlike beings across the Balkans, Russia, China and the sweeping plains of Mongolia - welcome to the world of Punt Guns. Based in London, Punt Guns are a twin attack of baritone guitar, six string bass and a whirlwind of cinematic atmospherics and industrial depth charges thrown in for good measure. Gearing up to release a brand-new album, the first glimpse of pure-spun gold on the horizon is Nemesis, an astonishing journey through dark corridors and forbidden zones with an accompanying video which will make your eyes melt. Forget everything you've ever heard - Punt Guns are the real deal.
Punt Guns were formed in 2017 by Marek Bero (bass/lead vocals) and Giampaolo Guarnieri (guitar/unearthly sounds) and have allied themselves with crack producers Andy Wright and Gavin Goldberg, whose credits include the likes of KLF, Jeff Beck,
Simple Minds and
Massive Attack. The first stunning results were documented on their debut album, a mix of skewed pop melodies, violent rock riffs and alien orchestras but this only hints at the glories to be heard on their forthcoming release. Now augmented by drummer, Dan Western and guitarist, synth maestro and producer Jiri Novotny, their sound is derived from a sonic stew of classical, baroque, Balkan and Slavic music, soaked up by the band as their lives took them around the world, from years spent in such disparate locales as Mongolia, Slovakia, Italy, the Himalayas and Lebanon. The band take the influences not only was the worlds of music but maverick sportsmen (Giampaolo travelled the world as an extreme skier in a previous life) and film, with transgressive directors like Argento, Godard, Vadim and Bava all casting their shadows on their work.
Marek came up with the name "Punt Guns". Long forgotten and then banned, this absurd gun with a gigantic, long canon was used to hunt fowls, leading to the angry duck that represents the band, as well as the 'quacks' which drown out any naughty words in the radio edit of Nemesis Esteban Ron in Buenos Aires arrived at the logo by using an angry picture of Donald Duck and reducing it to the band's own Punt Guns duckling. You'll have to wait until later in the year to hear the new album in full, with work currently underway at the legendary Rockfield Studios (Queen; Pixies; Royal Blood) in Wales but the first single, Nemesis is introduced by the band themselves:
"The main riff and harmonies of the verse came after a coaching session Giampaolo had with Jean-Marc Belkadi during which they worked on Ashkenazi and Russian chords and harmonies. Giampaolo translated such ideas from a standard tuning guitar to his baritone guitar. He played the tune to Jean-Marc who said that it was a "dark & unpredictable" vibe that reminded him of UK gangster style movies. This led Giampaolo to use part of the quote by Alan Ford defining Nemesis in the movie Snatch and use a voice-over actress, Sophie, to narrate it. Jiri started to create hooky electronic elements to the initial draft and Dan recorded drums for the chorus. Marek then laid down a huge bass line and a sick, slapping bass solo together with magical hooky lyrics that worked as a quasi-dialogue with Sophie's narration. This track offers the "rock pedigree approach" of the band and then climbs to an electronic world reminiscent of the likes of Justice,
Goose or Aaron".
