Bad Penny – ‘Push Comes to Shove’ (feat. Rob Halford & Militia Vox)

Fast forward 6 months (and a few pairs of heels and half a field of flowers later!) and I received the band’s latest single for review, ‘Push Comes to Shove’, featuring vocals by none other than the Metal God himself, Rob Halford of Judas Priest. But before I commence the review, it would be prudent to remind you of Bad Penny’s band members, previous releases and musical mission!

Bad Penny is a bit of a hard rock ‘supergroup’, conceived and masterminded by New York based guitarist/songwriter Mike Holtzman to “write and release original songs in a variety of genres – from classic rock to metal to power ballads”. The band also consists of Danny Miranda (Queen + Paul Rodgers) on bass and Jules Radino (Blue Oyster Cult) on drums. The first two singles released by Bad Penny (rockers ‘Voices in my Head’ and ‘The Mirror Lies’) featured Queensryche’s Todd LaTorre on vocals, before they tried their hand at a power ballad with the aforementioned third single ‘Lose Myself’, performed by former Journey frontman Steve Augeri. So, it’s fair to say that this experienced band already has a reputation within the industry, evidenced by the quality of vocalist willing to put their voice and name on Bad Penny’s music.

Taking cognisance of the above, it really should be no surprise that someone of the pedigree of metal-legend and Judas Priest singer Rob Halford stepped forward to record vocals for ‘Push Comes to Shove’, the first Bad Penny track to be co-written by Holtzman and Miranda. After all, if you’re going to record a song that’s very much heavy metal, who else would you want on guest vocals?! Halford is joined at the microphone by Militia Vox, a female singer described as a “mesmerising 4-octave metal dynamo”. If it sounds promising so far, the track’s potential is even further enhanced by the addition of producer Tony Bruno, a man who has produced tracks for Mandy Moore and Joan Jett, played guitar for Danger Danger and worked as Musical Director for Rihanna and Enrique Iglesias. But to borrow a well-known phrase, when ‘push comes to shove’, does the track live up to expectations?

Starting off with the sound of a kanun (or qanun), an Arabic stringed instrument, the track takes a very moody tone with the introduction of Jules Radino’s drums, some orchestration lower in the mix and haunting vocals in the background by Militia Vox. There’s a definite Middle Eastern vibe to the intro, perhaps inspired by guitarist Mike Holtzman’s travels to the region over the years, and not something often associated with metal. But it works wonderfully in creating an incredibly atmospheric feel to the music that had the hairs tingling on the back of my neck. In many ways, it reminded me of the similarly atmospheric opening of Queen’s ‘Innuendo’ from the 1991 album of the same name.

The intro makes way for a heavy, chugging riff by Holtzman’s guitar and Miranda’s powerful bass that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Judas Priest’s classic ‘Painkiller’ album. Think of the riff from that album’s ‘A Touch of Evil’… but add a lot more bite to it… and you won’t be far off! The riff continues in the background as Rob Halford’s unmistakeable voice is heard for the first time. There’s a menacing edge to his vocals and you can almost visualise him sneering as he asks “Now it’s time to choose, what are you gonna do? When push comes to shove, what are you thinking of”? Without giving the listener a chance to ponder the question or even to draw a breath, Militia Vox replies to the question! I was unaware of Vox until I was introduced to her vocal prowess on this track and it’s the perfect partner for Halford’s voice, which is obvious as he provides harmonies to her crystal clear and strong lead vocals at one point. There’s a kind of Within Temptation vibe to it and it creates an almost symphonic metal feel to the track.

The male/female vocal interplay, almost like a call and response, is used to full effect by Halford and Vox midway through. Radino’s drums pick up the tempo and become more prominent in this section, leading to a Holtzman guitar solo that retains the Arabic/Middle Eastern sound that’s apparent from the outset of the song. Mike Holtzman is a clever and unselfish guitarist and musician in that he doesn’t feel the need to showboat during his solos. He plays exactly what the song needs and that’s what he does here, complementing the arrangement to perfection.

The track moves towards the end with Halford and Vox duetting, still challenging one another and asking questions of what became of their relationship, whilst Miranda’s bass continues to drive the heavy, Priest-like riff. Holtzman continues to solo lower in the mix, with the Arabic kanun/qanun making an appearance once again to close track in the same manner it started.

Most bands like to play to their strengths and rarely challenge the boundaries of the genre they’re known for. Metal bands play metal, popstars play pop, blues artists do blues. It’s generally (but not exclusively) how the music industry works. So, it takes a very special and talented group of musicians to try something different and to play the music and genres they want to play without being of detriment to the quality of music. But that’s exactly what the guys in Bad Penny do! They’ve previously done hard rock and a power ballad to great effect, so testing themselves with a metal track was a no brainer; and what a track it is! To me, it’s not a conventional verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus arrangement. It’s a superb, different track that’s heavy, moody and menacing in equal measures with the Arabic instrumentation and scales making it very cinematic too. Adding such a legendary metal voice as Rob Halford to share vocals with a female powerhouse in Militia Vox was a shrewd move too, creating an at times symphonic metal sound that’s very popular in mainland Europe. The Dutch and Germans will adore this track, as will anyone who appreciates not only great metal music (old and new!) but a band that challenges its limits to create something real and authentic rather than sticking to the same tried and tested formula.

‘Push Comes to Shove’ is available for pre-order from 26th September before release on 1st October on all the usual platforms. The band are working on an album which is set to be diverse and eclectic with more special guests on vocals, so keep an eye on Rockfiend and Bad Penny’s social channels for more news.