Northern Irish power trio Final Thirteen blend elements of metal, rock and indie into their engaging sound. The three-piece are rallying strong support with their powerful vocals and raucous instrumentals, which combine in a sound they describe as “M’indie rock.”
Final Thirteen is formed of Ax (vocals), James-Darren (J.D., guitar and vocals) and Doobes (drums and vocals), three friends who united to start creating their own music. As J.D tells us: “We all played cover songs in previous projects and tired of regurgitating other peoples’ work. We got together and played about with a few ideas we had. In no time at all, we had numerous songs written and gigs were coming at us thick and fast. Within less than 12 months together, we have gigged all over Ireland, recorded and released two songs, with a third song recorded and due for release, and we are getting worldwide radio plays.”
Describing the Final Thirteen sound, J.D. says: “We aim with every note, every syllable and every beat to make music that people can get up and dance to, be it live, in a club or just in your kitchen. To those that have already seen us live and enjoyed the show, you will love the next show even more each time you see us, we are ever learning and constantly striving to up our game with every show.”
Our latest taste of this is the band’s second single Say Please Stay!, which was released last month. It opens up with a big fuzzy guitar riff that continues under a higher-pitched lick that feeds into an engaging opening verse. Ax’s vocals increase in intensity as crashing cymbals kick in through a singalong verse, which ends with the lick returning. A second chorus gives way to another instrumental section led by a piercing guitar solo. The track comes to a thrilling end with a bigger chorus led by Ax’s delicious vocals and a final blast of guitars.
On the track, J.D. tells us: “Say Please Stay! has been a crowd pleaser from the get-go, so we had very little trepidations about this track release. As expected, the stats on the release within the short time it has been out are very positive and extremely encouraging. Anyone who hasn’t heard the track can expect a unique and energetic love song done Final Thirteen style.” Check it out in the video here:
That follows on from debut single Why You Sacrifice Me Now, which opens up with a plodding guitar, which picks up pace before dropping into a moody opening verse. But it explodes into life through a dark and catchy chorus, which second time around drops into a section of stabbing guitars and cool high-pitched vocals setting up a powerful final blast of the chorus.
The trio combine varying musical tastes, largely metal, alternative rock and indie. As J.D. explains: “We have blended them together, added a dash of punk in there and created a unique sound. Some early press piece coined our music M’indie rock, and it kinda stuck. Ax is completely behind the lyrics of our music, she has quirky ways to writing her lyrics. She really tries not to look to other artists for inspiration, instead she strives to just be herself.”
Final Thirteen release their third single Go next Friday (22 November) and their fourth single Golden Hour in mid-December. You can also see them live at Union Bar in Belfast this Sunday (17 November). Their diary is filling up fast, and you should hopefully be able to see them live at festivals and gigs across the UK next year.
You can follow Final Thirteen on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Listen to Final Thirteen and more new music on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Rock and GigRadar Punk
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