Monthly Archives: February 2009
Busy week!
I keep buying music and music keeps getting sent to me! Oh, what a rich life to have *too much* music to listen to… 
There’s a lot of stuff I wanna get reviewed soon, here’s hoping I’ll have the time to give each and every CD a few good listens!
But tonight, we’ll take a look at another CD from my collection…
THE 69 EYES – Angels
The 69 Eyes – Angels (2007, EMI/Caroline Records)
Track Listing:
1. “Angels” … 3:59
2. “Never Say Die” … 3:29
3. “Rocker” … 3:39
4. “Ghost” … 4:17
5. “Perfect Skin” … 3:45
6. “Wings & Hearts” … 5:05
7. “Star Of Fate” … 4:50
8. “Los Angeles” … 3:48
9. “In My Name” … 3:36
10. “Shadow Of Your Love” … 3:43
11. “Frankenhooker” … 4:03
12. “Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams” … 4:32
Band:
Jyrki 69 – Lead Vocals
Timo-Timo – Guitar
Bazie – Guitar
Archzie – Bass, Vocals
Jussi 69 – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Johnny Lee Michaels – Keyboard
Produced by: Hiili Hiilesmaa
I wasn’t aware of this band until browsing thru Best Buy’s sad music section and this album cover (along with their Devils album cover) popped out at me. The band looked pretty cool, but there was a lot of sticker hype on the wrapping talking about goth metal and such and while some of that music is okay, listening to a whole album becomes tiresome. So I didn’t bother picking either up (if only Best Buy had listening stations…).
Eventually, I got around to checking their MySpace page and loved some of the songs on there from this album. “Perfect Skin” is a really catchy song, so catchy I’m surprised it wasn’t at least a minor hit here in the States. “Never Say Die” would by my second favorite song, but it’s a bit comical because Jryki 69 has that Danzig/Peter Steele/Dracula kinda voice going, so it’s hard to take too seriously sometimes.
My girl even commented that “he sounds like it’s Halloween or something”. She likes the music, but doesn’t like his voice, and from reading reviews of the band, apparently many others feel the same. I really don’t mind it too much, I think the songs would probably sound better with someone who wails like a hair metal front man, but at least its unique and not something you hear everyday. That is, unless you listen to The Misfits, Danzig, “Monster Mash”, and Type O Negative everyday!
Overall, I really like this album. It’s really catchy and not so over dramatic as many goth acts can be.
“Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams” is a re-recorded version of their song from their 1997 album of the same name. I think it’s a U.S. release exclusive.
Fun Fact: The 69 Eyes were originally a glam metal act, before converting to goth metal in the late 90s, though they are self-described as “goth ‘n’ roll”. Which, I agree with somewhat, they are harder and have more of a rock ‘n’ roll spirit than most goth bands I’ve listened to (obviously owing this to their glam metal past).
Highlights: “Never Say Die”, “Rocker”, “Ghost”, “Perfect Skin”, “Wings & Hearts”, “In My Name”, “Shadow of Your Love”, “Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams”
POISON – Poison’d!
[A review originally published here June 22, 2007, on The Metal Misfit: A Blog of Pop Culture & Life. I have made some format changes to fit in better with the Metal Excess format, but I have left the review portion untouched.]
Poison – Poison’d! (2007, Capitol Records)
Track Listing:
1. “Little Willy” [Sweet cover] … 3:18
2. “Suffragette City” [David Bowie cover] … 2:57
3. “I Never Cry” [Alice Cooper cover] … 3:33
4. “I Need To Know” [Tom Petty cover] … 2:21
5. “Can’t You See” [The Marshall Tucker Band cover] … 4:57
6. “What I Like About You” [The Romantics cover] … 2:59
7. “Dead Flowers” [Rolling Stones cover] … 4:21
8. “Just What I Needed” [The Cars cover] … 3:36
9. “Rock ‘N Roll All Night” [KISS cover] … 3:35
10. “Squeeze Box” [The Who cover] … 2:30
11. “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim (1986 Demo)” [Jim Croce cover] … 3:06
12. “Your Momma Don’t Dance” [Loggins & Messina cover] … 3:01
13. “We’re An American Band” [Grandfunk Railroad cover] … 3:09
BONUS TRACK
14. “Sexy Back” [Justin Timberlake cover] … 3:34
Band:
Bret Michaels – Vocals, Harmonica
C.C. DeVille – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Bobby Dall – Bass, Backing Vocals
Rikki Rockett – Drums, Backing Vocals
Produced by: Don Was (Tracks 1-8, 13, 14), Rick Rubin (Track 9), Thom Panunzio (Track 10), Ric Browde (Track 11), Tom Werman (Track 12)
Summer. It’s that time of year where the so-called “eighties” acts release an album to get some hype going their summer tours. Usually, a greatest hits or live album will do the job so that these bands can promote & sell *something* while on the road, but cover albums are always another standby for bands that don’t feel like writing new songs. Covers albums in general are nothing to get excited about. As I said, they’re either done by a band that doesn’t want to sit down and write original material OR they’re released to fill time while the public awaits original material.
Luckily, Poison delivers with the same good time fun that their original works are known for. Sure, Bret Michael’s voice has gotten a little rougher with time, but so do calluses. That’s life. Even at his vocal peak, Bret was never going to out sing Rob Halford or Jeff Scott Soto, and he does a serviceable job here.
Poison seems quite at home covering “Little Willy” and Bowie’s “Suffragette City”, the first two tracks that get the album off to a great start. I was also pleasantly surprised to see them cover (and do a good job of covering) Alice Cooper’s “I Never Cry”. Bret’s twang has never been more present than on that song. Other top picks include a rockin’ version of “I Need To Know”, “Can’t You See”, “Rock ‘N Roll All Night” (a song I’ve long since only had a mp3 version of), and of course one of their biggest hits… “Your Momma Don’t Dance”.
For all the fun this album brings (it’s a great summertime album to go crusin’ to) I do have a few gripes here. Tracks 9-13 were all previously released songs. I would have much preferred Poison to have picked and recorded some new covers. “‘Rock ‘N Roll All Night” is from 1987’s Less Than Zero movie soundtrack, “‘Squeeze Box”’ comes from the band’s last studio album 2001’s Hollyweird, “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” was released in 2006 as a 1986 demo track with the Poison album reissues, “Your Momma Don’t Dance” was a huge hit for the band from Open Up and Say… Ahhh and “We’re An American Band” comes from last year’s 20th Anniversary greatest hits collection.
“Your Momma Don’t Dance” easily stands out on this album as the best track. It’s everything hair metal was in the 80s, slick and polished and in your face. The newer covers have a more raw and punchy sound, which while it works for some tracks (“Suffragette City”, “I Never Cry”, “I Need To Know”), it feels out of place on 80s pop hits like “What I Like About You” and certainly on The Cars’ “Just What I Needed”.
If you picked up the Wal-Mart version of the album, it included a bonus track featuring a cover of Mr. JT’s “Sexy Back”, which is actually pretty entertaining and fairly heavy sounding (well, heavy for Poison covering a Timberlake song).
Call it 7 out of 10.
AUTOMAN.CA – Pocket Change
Automan.ca – Pocket Change (2008, uNKLEDUNk Records)
Track Listing:
1. “Back In The Sun” … 3:37
2. “Dig In Deep” … 3:41
3. “Cinnamon Rain” … 4:00
4. “One Half Hard” … 4:26
5. “Milldog Blues”… 3:54
6. “Give An Inch, Take A Mile” … 3:28
7. “Chasin’ My Tail” … 4:58
8. “Drivin’, Rockin’, Lovin’” … 3:20
Band:
Darrell “DWaRf” Millar – Vocals
Carleton Lockhart – Guitar
John Fenton – Bass
Adrian Cavan – Drums
Produced by: Darrell “DWaRf” Millar
Co-Produced by: Greg Looper
Automan.ca is about as pure a good time rock ‘n’ roll band as you can find these days. They sound like a band you might hear playing in bar somewhere on a Saturday night (this is a compliment). The band’s official bio states they sound similar to Aerosmith, AC/DC and The Rolling Stones and that’s about right: Automan.ca has been influenced strongly by 70s/80s blues rock & Southern rock and I would even add they sound similar to Ted Nugent (especially Darrell “Dwarf” Millar’s vocals).
I don’t drink, but if I did, I imagine this in album I would do it to while sitting on a porch somewhere with my dog at my side and my woman on my lap. Just like the best women, Pocket Change is fun, fast, and loose.
BTW – If Darrell Millar’s name sounds familiar, it should– he’s also the drummer for Killer Dwarfs.
Highlights: “Back In The Sun”, “Dig In Deep”, “One Half Hard”, “Give An Inch, Take A Mile”, Chasin’ My Tail”, “Drivin’, Rockin’, Lovin’”
SYRYM – Syrym
Syrym – Syrym (2008, Hatrix Records)
Track Listing:
1. “Foul Mouth Blues” … 5:03
2. “Warpath” … 4:37
3. “Torn In Two” … 5:39
4. “Ugly On The Inside” … 6:03
5. “Brokedown” … 5:03
6. “The Sky Is Falling” … 5:04
7. “30 & Dirty” … 4:17
8. “While America Sleeps” … 5:05
9. “Alive In The Real World” … 4:21
10. “Bring It On (Go Down Fighting)” … 5:10
11. “What I’m Trying To Say” … 5:14
12. “What I’m Trying To Say (Reprise)” … 1:47
Band:
Jeffrey Winslow – Vocals, Backing Vocals, Piano, Keyboard
Ron Freschi – Guitar, Backing Vocals, Keyboard
Rich Talley – Bass, Backing Vocals
Jamey Pacheco – Drums
Produced by: Ron Freschi
I became aware of Syrym thanks to this very blog and one of my earliest album entries when Mr. Jeffrey Winslow popped up in the comments section. Very cool of him. I also have to say he does a great job on this album. I love his vocals.
For some unknown reason, I never got around to picking this album up when it was released. Darn shame too, because I could’ve been enjoying this music so much sooner! This is yet another release that would’ve been a strong contender for the Top 10 of ’08 list… Had I actually heard it in 2008!
This is a great melodic hard rock release that continues in a similar style to Babylon A.D. And why shouldn’t it? Ron Freschi & Jamey Pacheco were both in Babylon A.D. Anyone who is a fan of that band or the 80s/90s melodic hard rock sound should love this release, because I certainly do.
I know this is an album I’ll be reaching for quite often.
Highlights: “Foul Mouth Blues”, “Warpath”, “Torn In Two”, “Ugly On The Inside”, “30 & Dirty”, “Alive In The Real World”, “Bring It On (Go Down Fighting)”
www.syrym.com
www.myspace.com/syrym
www.cdbaby.com/cd/syrym
IDOLS ARE DEAD – Mean
Idols Are Dead – Mean (2008, Scarlet Records)
Track Listing:
1. “This Is Not The End” … 4:05
2. “Let’s Do It!” … 3:27
3. “Dance with the Devil” … 3:34
4. “Pain for Sale” … 4:16
5. “Dirt” … 3:50
6. “It’s So Easy” … 3:08
7. “The Name of the Rage” … 3:18
8. “Proud to be Sick” … 3:13
9. “Twiggy” … 3:45
Band:
Mana – Vocals
Ico – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Alley X – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Maxx C – Bass, Backing Vocals
Luca – Drums
Produced by: Gabriele Ravaglia, Simon Mularoni, Maxx C
YES! Now this is some modern metal I can really get into! I’ve been wanting to try out some heavier stuff than my usual 80s-inspired hard rock and this is just what the doctor ordered! Idols Are Dead are heavy, but not *too* heavy. They are a melodic blend of good old-fashioned heavy metal, thrash metal and modern metal, so they keep things interesting and don’t just pummel your ears. The songs are really catchy and have stuck in my head after listening to the album.
And you know these guys’ hearts are in the right place because they do a cover of Guns ‘N Roses’ “It’s So Easy”… and it’s pretty good! But this album isn’t some 80s heavy metal throwback, the band has taken old thrash and metalcore and made it work. I’ve seen others reviews comparing their modern touch to Avenged Sevenfold or Trivium and that sounds about right.
This Italian band is trying to break in the U.S. and I really hope they do because this is a really strong record that the States needs to hear. Definitely looking forward to hearing whatever they come up with next.
Highlights: “This Is Not the End”, “Let’s Do It!”, “Pain For Sale”, “Dirty”, “It’s So Easy”, “Proud to Be Sick”
www.idolsaredead.com
www.myspace.com/idolsrdead
www.youtube.com/idolsrdead
