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If you like Jason Aldean crossed with Bon Jovi crossed with a harder, Linkin Park-style guitar sound, then Gary Burk III’s new single, “Friday Night” is definitely the thing for your Friday night party. It starts with a grinding mid-scooped metal-style riff that quickly introduces a country element when the vocals kick in. Unsurprisingly, “Friday Night” describes the typical events of a small town party, where an unending cast of wacky characters get crazy in a way that would certainly have raised the hackles of Reverend Moore from Footloose. The song falls into a certain lyrical tradition that namechecks all these characters who you don’t know in specific but you definitely know as types, so that you know his kinda party is also your kinda party.
No hard rock party song would be complete without a guitar solo, and Gary Burk’s playing here has a laid back groove that evokes the all night long flow of this kind of party rather than building to a showstopping climax, an unusual choice. The competent pop-metal mix isn’t hard on the ears, although perhaps a more dynamic, classic rock sound would sit better instead of this ultra-modern guitar tone. Overall, this is a song that will certainly scratch a Friday night party itch for your country/nü-metal fans, all weekend long.
This review was written by Michael Ouyang. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
