The Zac Schulze Gang aren’t here to ease in quietly. Their debut album Straight To It lives up to its title, charging forward with a no-nonsense mix of blues-fueled rock and raw, road-tested energy. Frontman and guitarist Zac Schulze may be the technical marvel at the center of the storm, but this is no solo act. Together with his brother Ben on drums and bassist Ant Greenwell, the trio operate as a single, high-voltage unit, loud, tight, and unapologetically alive.

Recorded with longtime collaborator Ian Sadler, Straight To It captures everything the trio learned from years of relentless touring across the UK and Europe. From the rallying cry of opener “The Rocker” to the whiplash intensity of “High Roller,” the record pulses with the kind of chemistry that can only come from the stage. But there’s nuance in the noise. Tracks like “Angeline” and “Betterland” bring a melodic punch and power-pop shimmer, proving that melody and muscle can coexist without compromise.

Schulze’s path to forming the band began in the pandemic lockdown, when a late-night YouTube dive led him to footage of Rory Gallagher tearing through “Bullfrog Blues.” That discovery lit the spark. Soon, Zac and Ben took their punk-honed energy and funneled it into a new kind of blues, gritty, immediate, and free of nostalgia. By the time they hit the stage at Gallagher’s Tribute Festival in 2022, the Zac Schulze Gang had become one of the UK’s most talked-about live acts.

Their climb since has been relentless. Between 250 shows a year, support slots for Eddie 9V and Samantha Fish, and a breakout appearance at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival in Los Angeles, the band have become a fixture on both sides of the Atlantic. Along the way, they picked up UK Blues Awards for Best Emerging Blues Band in 2024 and Young Artist of the Year in 2025, honors that reflect both their grind and their groove.

Straight To It may nod to their blues roots on cuts like “I Won’t Do This Anymore,” complete with greasy harmonica from Nigel Feist, but this is a modern rock record through and through, fiery, focused, and forward-looking. As Classic Rock Magazine put it, the trio are “armed with upbeat, 70s-ified blues rock with a few enticing twists and a roughened Rory Gallagher-esque edge.”