Texas trio The Infamists describe themselves as a “three-headed rattlesnake” due to the feisty nature of a riff-heavy diverse stoner rock sound they summarise as “heavy, bluesy, and barbequed.”
The Denton band started out in 2012 when Riley Rogers (guitar and vocals), Spencer Wharton (bass and vocals) and Ryan Weiss (drums, sampling and backing vocals) were students at the University of North Texas. They found each other through the Musicians Wanted section of classified ads website Craigslist, have gone on to release multiple albums and EPs and heavily tour across North Texas.
On the sound they’ve crafted since, Riley told us: “We pretty much have no rules when it comes to writing new music. Over the last 13 years, we’ve experimented with heavy metal, psyche rock, blues, and obviously rock ‘n’ roll. Our last single called Wayfaring & Wanderlust was actually an Americana/Country-inspired song that even had pedal steel guitar. As long as we can make it sound good, we’re open to trying out any genre.”
Our latest taste of this is Stab Stab Bang Bang, which was released earlier this month. It opens up with a cool stabbing riff that drops into engaging vocals over drums and occasional guitar bursts, which flows into a cool chorus with repeats of “Stab, stab, she’s got the bang bang.” Another funky verse follows and a second chorus gives way to rolling guitars and a cool wah-infused solo teeing up a final chorus.
On the track, Riley said: “The reception has been great! We’ve been playing this song live for a couple of years now, so there’s been a good amount of people who have been waiting for this recording to come out. It’s been a crowd favorite at our live shows and will probably go down as one of our best-known songs once everything is said and done. New listeners can expect a chanty, raunchy riff-driven rock song with a touch of synthesizers and talkbox effects that you might expect more from an 80s band.”
That follows on from two more singles earlier this year, Lonestar Woes and the aforementioned Wayfaring & Wanderlust, which has more of an 80s rock vibe about it, and the band’s fourth album Live Evil, released in 2023.
The Infamists sound has been inspired by a love for rock, blues and heavy metal. Spencer is big into The Rolling Stones and country music, Ryan loves bands like Coheed and Cambria and Every Time I Die, and Riley is a big fan of Black Sabbath and Smashing Pumpkins.
And on what inspires them to write music, Riley explained: “Lately, we’ve been writing a lot about the supernatural. Many of the songs we’ve done previously have been well received by the stoner/doom/psyche rock community, so much of our recent themes have been in that vein. We’ve done songs about personal experiences, different emotions at various points in our lives, and even some songs just based on people that we know that might have an interesting story.
“We constantly look for inspiration at all times. Stab Stab Bang Bang is about someone we know who shot an intruder who followed her home and broke into her house. Her husband is a Vietnam veteran who also killed someone in self-defense during the war. I thought it was interesting that both of them had killed someone in order to defend themselves at different point in their lives, hence the title. The song is basically about standing your ground.”
There’s plenty more to come from the trio, who are heading back into the studio this month to put the finishing touches on their fifth album, which should be out next Spring.
You can follow The Infamists on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.
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