The Warning (Part 2)
In Part 1, I covered a bit of this band's history, from their start as kids recording videos in their parent’s basement to a viral presence on youtube and live performances of their 13-song concept album “Queen of the Murder Scene.”
Here is “Dull Knives” from their 2018 performance:
Flash forward: The Warning have toured North America several times; as headliners and as openers for bands like the Foo Fighters. They’ve done a tour with Halestorm and the Pretty Reckless — a veritable supernova of girl-power. They were invited by Metallica to participate in the “Black List,” an album of covers of songs from Metallica’s Black Album. Their cover of “Enter Sandman” with Alessia Cara has become one of the most celebrated tracks on the ”Black List.”
Their two most recent albums show off rapidly growing skills as instrumentalists and maturing, powerful singing voices. They are deadly serious about their craft — they interned at Berklee College of Music and have been taking voice coaching. Their fans often tell them they are saving rock music and seem to have taken that responsibility to heart.
One of the oldest tropes in the music business, long used by promoters and critics alike to dismiss women playing rock, is “They play ok, for girls.” Some things are slow to change — a couple of generations ago, the same nonsense was commonplace in classical music. Well, no one dares to say that about The Warning.
Yes, they play like girls. These days that means showing the boys how it’s done.
The Warning are not afraid to write songs with an angry edge. In live performances, they prowl the stage as though barely able to contain themselves. They remind me of the great power trios of classic rock — if anything, harder and heavier. Technically, they are not yet at the level of a Cream or a Rush, but the oldest of them is only 23, and they are progressing at a scary rate.
A lot of fans and critics alike moan that rock is dead. They are wrong. It just moved, and women are carrying the torch. After you have watched the following clips, let me know if you know of other young bands, male or female, who play like this. I’d love to know.
“Animosity” (Live, 2022)
“Disciple” (Live, 2022)
“Enter Sandman” (Metallica cover, live, 2022)
They have kept this in their set list, often playing it as the final song of their encore. They have come a long way since that first video in their basement.
Sources:
Same source list as Part 1, plus:
Discogs https://www.discogs.com/artist/4533866-The-Warning
Thanks to Alexander Razin; David Acaster; Miss Catherine La Grange, spinster; Zarla Dawn; Jessica Lee McMillan; Jeffrey Harvey; Dan Reich; Charlie Cole; Elizabeth Kaldeck Smith; Nicole Brown; Madeline Dovi; Steve Goldberg; Stephanie Leguichard; Giulia Picciau; Laura Lind; Drew Wardle; Christine Carmichael; Jon Scarborough; Anthony Overs; If Ever You’re Listening; Buddy Gott; and thanks to Kevin Alexander for publishing.
