While their peers often substitute bleeps and clangs for raw groove and genuine innovation, Darediablo succeed on the strength of their stripped-down rock three-piece. It's their unbelievable range of direct influences -- from the 1950's "organ trio" model to the cock-rock of the 1970s to spaghetti western soundtracks to modern (but not "Nu") metal. And as their latest album, Twenty Paces, makes clear, damn near everything in between.

Jake Garcia's guitar and bass effortlessly trade lead and rhythm with Matt Holford's Hammond and assorted keyboards, inspiring devil horns and raised beers almost as much for their tension-building restraint as for their arena-grade riffage. Laying a truly solid foundation, drummer Chad Royce crafts beats with brawn and brains that don't pull out the rug from underneath Holford and Garcia's menacing and complex rhythmic barrages. As the Village Voice said, "This mostly instrumental local trio (bass, Rhodes, organ, drums, and the occasional dual-neck bass and six-string guitar) rock with more power and finesse than most bands twice their size and wattage."