Monthly Archives: July 2010
Y&T – Facemelter
Y&T – Facemelter (2010, Meanstreak Music Company)
1. “Prelude, On With The Show” … 1:39
2. “On With The Show” … 4:09
3. “How Long” … 4:24
4. “Shine On” … 4:59
5. “I Want Your Money” … 4:42
6. “Wild Child” … 4:08
7. “I’m Coming Home” … 5:12
8. “If You Want Me” … 4:52
9. “Hot Shot” … 5:03
10. “Blind Patriot” … 4:07
11. “Gonna Go Blind” … 4:26
12. “Don’t Bring Me Down” … 4:21
13. “One Life” … 4:19
Band:
Dave Meniketti – Lead Vocals, Lead guitar
John Nymann – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Phil Kennemoore – Bass, Backing Vocals
Mike Vanderhule – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Producer: Y&T
Y&T is one of those bands that had a lot going for them musically but couldn’t catch a break with commercial success. Their late ’80s attempts to chase the almighty dollar with a more mainstream melodic rock sound ended up alienating the fan base they had build up since the late ’70s and then it wasn’t too much longer before their style of rock went out of style. That was then and this is now! In more modern times veteran rock bands are experiencing a renaissance in terms of live events and top quality albums.
While I can’t vouch for the live shows, Y&T definitely has delivered with a brand new studio album that hearkens back to the ’80s heyday for this style of hard rock. The only Y&T album I’ve owned before purchasing Facemelter was Ten. It was okay but nothing special so despite always reading praise of the band’s earlier works I wasn’t sure whether this album was going to be any good. I saw a few mixed reviews for it online but decided to try it out for myself after listening to some samples and a number of songs immediately stood out to me… I even enjoyed the intro!
The general consensus amongst Y&T fans now seems to be that this album is good but doesn’t compare to the albums like Meanstreak or Black Tiger. Of course, you’ll hear that about most new releases from an “old” band. For my money, going in oblivious to what Y&T had done in their early days, I’m loving this album. “On With The Show”, “How Long”, “Shine On”, “I’m Coming Home” are all great melodic hard rock numbers and David Meniketti’s voice is just as strong as ever and his guitar playing is superb. There’s also a great ballad on here called “If You Want Me” and then the bluesy “Gonna Go Blind” is a really cool number featuring lyrics about masturbation that would make AC/DC proud. The album closes with “One Life”, which is a really good instrumental.
Facemelter delivers for fans of melodic hard rock. Maybe Y&T aren’t as fast or as heavy as they used to be but c’mon their first album was released in 1978! Cut’em some slack! Easily one of my favorite albums of 2010 and well worth seeking out.
In fact, the only gripe I have is the album cover which looks like something from the animated movie How To Train Your Dragon. I must admit though that it’s pretty cool Y&T recruited the same artist that they used for some of their early albums.
Highlights: “On With The Show”, “How Long”, “Shine On”, “I’m Coming Home”, “If You Want Me”, “Gonna Go Blind”, “One Life”
SISTER SIN – True Sound of the Underground
Sister Sin – True Sound of the Underground (2010, Victory Records)
1. “Sound of the Underground” … 3:33
2. “Outrage” … 3:26
3. “Better Than Them” … 3:32
4. “24/7″ … 3:59
5. “Heading For Hell” … 3:41
6. “I Stand Alone” … 4:09
7. “Built To Last” … 3:25
8. “The Devil I Know” … 3:26
9. “Times Aren’t A-Changing” … 2:55
10. “Nailbiter” … 3:32
11. “Beat Em Down” … 3:30
Band:
Liv – Vocals
Jimmy – Guitar
Benton – Bass
Dave – Drums
Producer: Henrik Edenhed
Despite this being their third release, Sister Sin is a band that was totally under the radar to me until about a few weeks ago. There was thread on a message board that I frequent titled ‘Sister Sin’ but for days I didn’t click on it. Just going by the name, I figured it was some melodic power metal band or maybe even something heavier. A few days later, I happened to see the CD in FYE for $9.99 and the sticker on the cellophane said “true street metal for fans of Judas Priest, Motley Crue, Scorpions & Accept!”
I still wasn’t sure if it was worth the money and checked out the thread as soon as I got home and the Myspace link that was inside and absolutely loved the song “Outrage”. I listened to most of this album on their Myspace page and some more positive feedback on this band convinced me to pick it up.
I’m really glad I did. Sister Sin is like the slutty metal sister of Halestorm in a way. Liv’s vocals are powerful, not quite on the level of Halestorm’s Lzzy but very close. Both of these bands feature a strong female rock vocalist and have hooky modern hard rock sounds but while Halestorm has more of a post-grunge influence (and a bit of “Kelly Clarkson rock” on a few tracks), Sister Sin revels in pure old school sleaze & heavy metal and why not? They’re Swedish! It’s practically a legal requirement for any hard rock act from Sweden to pay homage to the ’80s glam and sleaze acts.
Don’t get me wrong though, Sister Sin isn’t a retro band but their idols are obvious. While the Motley influence is there, they don’t necessarily sound like Priest, Scorpions and Accept but I definitely agree this band is for fans of type of music. However, there is an Accept connection after all– Udo Dirkschneider wrote the lyrics to “24/7″.
As much as I love supporting the veteran acts, it’s great and refreshing to hear new bands coming up with their own twists on hard rock & heavy metal. I wasn’t even sure if I was gonna enjoy Sister Sin just because I usually don’t care for female vocalists but True Sound of the Underground is yet another great release in 2010 and has been a featured album in my car and on my computer since I bought it. It’s hard, heavy, fast and it isn’t alternative. What more could you ask for?
Highlights: “Sound of the Underground”, “Outrage”, “Better Than Them”, “24/7″, “I Stand Alone”, “Nailbiter”
