W.A.S.P. have made a habit of being infuriatingly inconsistent over their 28 year history. The self-titled first album, "The Last Command" [with some qualifications], "The Headless Children" and "The Crimson Idol" among their best work, while the rest was spotty at best. So now we have "Babylon", whose theme deals with what Blackie Lawless feels is our current civilisation`s urgent need to veer away from the self-destructive path we now appear to be on; not in an apocalyptic sense, but in the sense that we run the risk of stagnating as a species, as a culture. Or something like that. Whether anyone will take seriously the opinions of a 54 year old man with a buzzsaw sticking out of his codpiece is an open debate; it`s the music that matters. And this just might be the best think that Blackie and Co. have produced in quite some time. The CD opens up with "Crazy" and one can`t help but notice that the intro chords are almost the same as those for "Wild Child", not a bad thing, really. Plus, "Crazy" is a good song, definitely has W.A.S.P. stamped all over it and great vocal arrangements, something the band [in their better moments] always excelled in. Another standout is "Babylon`s Burning", doubtless one of the best tunes Blackie`s ever written and features a great vocal hook from Mr. Lawless. His voice has changed very little of the years, and here he has never sounded better. One of my favorites is a faithful cover of Deep Purple`s "Burn"; W.A.S.P. has covered classics from Metal`s days of yore on previous albums, but unlike others they`ve always had a true reverence for these tunes and thus tend to keep what made the originals so great in the first place, and this is true on "Burn". "Into The Fire" and "Godless Run" are fine examples of why W.A.S.P. seems to be able to handle ballads better than so many others, and are right up there with "Sleeping In The Fire" from the 1st album. "Seas Of Fire" is another choice cut ["Fire"?, "Burn"? "Burning"? Do we see a pattern here?], and there`s even a neat cover of Chuck Berry`s "Promised Land"! All in all, a solid release and welcome return to form for these former PMRC poster children, "Babylon" is certain to rank right up there with the best they`ve ever done. [It`s got some cool liner notes from Blackie, also!]
Sweden`s Coldspell is made up of various members of R.A.W. and Dalton, so you can pretty much guarentee what their debut disc, "Infinite Stargaze", is gonna sound like. Melodic Hard Rock in the vein of Gotthard, Europe, Alien, Joe Lynn Turner-era Rainbow, etc. Sure, lots of bands mine the same territory; the difference is that Coldspell do everything RIGHT! "Infinite Stargaze" is a well produced, well written AND well performed CD featuring 12 tracks of Melodic Metal that oozes class. More on the Metal end of things than AOR, Coldspell hit all the right buttons here, with an abundance of catchy melodies, memorable choruses, HUGE guitar riffs [so big they`d span two continents!], lush keyboard work and powerhouse vocals from Niclas Swedentorp. The songs are all top-notch and it`s no easy task picking out favorites; "Keep On Belivin`", "Eye Of The Storm", the AWESOME "Night Falls", "Fade Away, ""Greed" and the title track come to mind. The whole CD is consistent from beginning to end, and in lesser hands it would be hard to sustain the high quality found here, but Coldspell are seasoned pros who obviously know their stuff. Any Melodic Rocker owes it to themselves to get ahold of this album, one of the very best of 2009. Highly, HIGHLY recommended!!
Glam Metal from Slovenia. Slovenia?! One is usually accustomed to Glam hailing from Los Angeles or Sweden. But really there`s only a hint of Glam Metal in Toxic Heart`s sound; their debut, "Ride Your Life", is more of an `eighties-style Hard Rock approach, not too far off from what Scorpions were doing in that period. HUGE hooks, catchy choruses and memorable melodies are the order of the day here, and this band [Axl-Vocals, Mike-Guitar, Rider-Bass, Mogy-Drums] has these qualities in spades! The overall feel of the album is upbeat, positive, the sort of album you wanna pop in to your car stereo, take off with your friends and cruise the streets while cranking it as loud as possible. And you WILL be cranking this one, believe me! Fist pumping and head banging are madatory on tracks like "Big Time", "Makin' Me Bad", "One Night Stand" and "Like The Way I Feel", the production [Maras Tomaz and Mike Pipenbaher] is slick but not overly so. The band are first-rate musicians who have a genuine love for the music they make. "Ride Your Life" makes one long for the days before all those heroin addicts from Seattle began spewing their whiney, self-deprecating pap to the masses. Nothing deep or serious here, just a lot of FUN. What more could you ask for? More Toxic Heart, please!! [Thanks to Mike @ HQ United Management for the review copy!]
"Rock & Roll Chains" is album number 3 for Washington-based Legend Heart, and also their best yet! One listen to the the opening song [the title track] should convince anyone with at least ONE good ear of this. Legend Heart`s sound has never been easily classified, whcih suits them just fine. Elements of Metal, Prog, heavy Blues Rock and Psychedelia have always been a part of their sonic pallette, yet this time up the band is leaning more towards the heavier end of the spectrum, with VERY positive results. Next track is the aptly-titled "Turn It Up", and when Suzette Monique opens the song with "Turn it up louder than Hell!", you better do EXACTLY what she says! Guitarist Reno West here, and on the whole album, is amazing from start to finish [he also shares vocal duties with Suzette] and is definitely one of the highpoints. But there ARE quieter moments to balance the high decible delivery; the haunting "Hitchhicker", the beautiful "Dreamless Night" and the final tune "Angel Of The Flame". These three are among the best of the 10 tracks featured, though the whole album is a winner. Consistently high quality song writing, arrangements and musicianship plus the ability to make seemingly incompatible genres work together are what put Legend Heart on a higher level than many of their peers. A truly independent group of artists who embody that DIY spirit and prove once again that you don`t need major label backing to make [and distribute] great music. Highest recommendation possible! [Special thanks to Reno West, Suzette Monique and Michelle West for sending me the CD!]
Here we have the follow up to UK bassist Jamie Mallender`s previous solo outing. But while the first CD was more of a showcase for Jamie`s Pop/Rock songwriting skills, "Return To Bass" finds him tearing up the rule book and indulging his most carnal bass fantasies; indulging but not OVER indulging. First of all, this is not a Metal album; I would say that the music here is rooted in early Seventies Prog, not far removed from Spectrum, Return To Forever, as well as Hawkwind-style Space Rock. But Jamie doesn`t go overboard; his song writing and melodic sensibilities refusing to allow any self indulgent wankery from spoiling his latest musical journey. And what a long, strange trip it is! All instruments were performed by Jamie, who alos recorded, mixed and produced the album; I`ll bet he even does windows, too! The tracks are fairly short, with the longest being the 8 minute "The Amazing Adventures Of An Interstellar Glam Hippy"; that title alone should pretty much tell you what you`re in for. But as I said, Jamie`s compositional skills manage to reign in any inclination to show off. Every sound, every note every beat has a reason to be there, something you rarely see in a project of this type. And the accent is on fun rather than anything deep or soul searching, another welcome element, as this style tends to be a little TOO self- absorbed and oh-so-serious. One of the best things about the CD is that each track can stand on its` own, another tribute to Jamie`s song-oriented approach. Among my favorites are "Planet Happiness (A Tribute To The Cardigan)", "The Amazing Adventures Of An Interstellar Glam Hippy", and "Captain Blake vs The Lion", this last one based on an actual incident witnessed by Jamie; e-mail him for the full story!;) All told, an impressive release from an equally impressive musician who displays equal facility in a variety of musical settings. So buy the CD and help ensure future releases from this guy!!
