BATTLEME
is my stage name. I’ve been written up in Rolling Stone, Billboard, Spin, Esquire, NME, Rock Sound, Classic Rock Magazine, Magnet and more. I’ve toured with some great bands (Metric, The Toadies, The Supersuckers, Veruca Salt, Monster Magnet + more). I was also fortunate enough to write some songs for FX’s, Sons of Anarchy. My cover of Neil Young’s "Hey Hey, My My" has over 60 million YouTube views, which is insane considering someone just threw up a photo of a SOA screen grab. My most current record, "Cult Psychotica,” was released in the US / EU on Oct 6, 2017, All Music gave it an 8 out of 10 stars, with reviewer Matt Collar noting, "...the album is a red-eyed collection of fuzzy rock anthems, all centered on Drenik's throaty, nasal-pitched sneer. What he lacks in outright vocal resonance, he makes up for with strutting rock attitude and literate, philosophical lyrics that are equal parts Lou Reed and Elliott Smith." I post this quote because it took nearly 15 years and 8 albums for a reviewer to finally say the words, “Elliott Smith,” when talking about something I’ve done. My “XO” tattoo not in vain.
YouTube Monthly Spins - 500,000+ // Spotify Monthly Spins - 220,000+
** these numbers mean nothing to me, but they do to others.
Press photo Cult Psychotica // Credit - Ray Gordon
Cult psychotica // 2017
Cult Psychotica’s ten songs are an homage to a fluid and sometimes morbid dream that centers around Drenik’s vision of an urban American landscape run by shams and hustles. It’s a reaction to the Trumponian theatre, a timely reflection on our own busted reality.
Live Thessaloniki, Greece // Credit - Emilianos Ap
It doesn't matter the sound quality of the video but the energy of the guys on stage! We had to climb over people to get to the stage.
LIVE in EUROPE // 2017
"Battleme gave Novi Sad a great, sincere, raw guitar party along with songs from the new edition "Cult Psychotica", but also with some older things. Observing them on the stage, it's impossible to resist it, you feel that you can testify to something that will persist for years." - Balkan Rock
Freakout Fest - Seattle, WA (2017)
KEXP NODS AGAIN
"If there was a showmanship award to be handed out at Freakout, Battleme would be a top contender. The Portland rock outfit gleefully indulged in the audience from the stage at Tractor Tavern. Lead vocalist Matt Drenik prowled the stage, possessed and hellbent on raising the stakes. His presence was as big as the music, hitting harder with each track." - KEXP
Planet Rock Magazine - Best of 2017
Cult Psychotica - El Camino Media (2017)
TOTAL ROCK
"Battleme is the stylish brainchild of their former frontman Matt Drenik. Testament is the latest single and comes bearing blues-based riffage of the most swashbuckling calibre. Plus they look brilliant, and Matt gives the most delicious ‘OWW!’ cry we’ve heard all week. Good times all-round." - TOTAL ROCK (UK)
FLOOD MAGAZINE PREMIERES "HOT MESS" OFF CULT PSYCHOTICA
"You hear trashy Brownsville Station but one also detects the rhythmic tendencies of the Rapture. The messiness of prime early Alice Cooper echoes underneath while the Black Angels’ brashness rings across the top. It all works."
- The Citizen's Voice
DISCOGRAPHY
Cult Psychotica (2017)
Live At The Cactus Cafe (Solo 2017)
Habitual Love Songs (2016)
Future Runs Magnetic (2014)
Weight On The Brain (2013)
Battleme (2012)
Big Score (2009)