Like Paul
Dianno era Iron Maiden? Then you’ll probably dig these guys. Songs like
“Prelude to War”/”Thanatos”, “Graveyard of Empires”, and the instrumental “Rex
Mundi” have that same mix of metallic musicianship and almost punk rock rawness
found on Maiden’s first two albums. Not to mention the galloping bass lines and
harmony guitar parts. But as much as I dig the early Maiden worship, I’m glad
the band shows they can add some fresh touches to the formula on “Sea of Apathy”
and “Fear of Damnation”. Part of me would be perfectly happy to hear these guys
keep doing the Maiden shtick, but I think they have the songwriting abilities to
move beyond just emulating their idols. (Bob Ignizio)
Adam Rich – ‘You Can’t Escape Life’
(Love Muffin Records)
I’ll be honest.
When I get a solo album from the bass player of a local metal band (even if
it’s a good local metal band like Girth, the band Adam plays for), I tend to
approach such a disc with more dread than anticipation. So it was a pleasant
surprise to find out that not only does ‘You Can’t Escape Life’ not suck, it’s
genuinely very good. No metal here, if that’s what you were expecting. This is
just straight ahead melodic rock that could best be described as mature
sounding. Adam plays bass and guitar on just about all the tracks, and even
plays drums on a couple. His main collaborator on this project is Jared
Levengood, who plays drums and some guitar, sings a couple of songs,
co-engineered the CD, and even wrote the two songs he sings. The other 8 tracks
are all written by Adam, though. Half are instrumentals, and the other half are
sung by guest vocalists Derek Deprator, Xela, Andy Elias, and Brian May (not the
guitar player from Queen; someone local with the same name). The only track
that didn’t work for me was “Go Away Mr. Telemarketer”, sort of a goofy
throwaway song compared to the rest of the material on here. Otherwise a strong
collection of material well worth checking out. For more info, go to
www.lovemuffinrecords.com.
Nothing
super original here, but as far as bands heavily influenced by Kyuss goes,
Truckfighters are about as good as it gets. First of all, they don’t sound
exactly like Kyuss. There’s also a bit of Monster Magnet in this band’s
sound. Second of all, the songs, musicianship, and production are excellent.
If you’re dying for some good, fuzzed out sludgy stoner rock the way they did it
back in ’91, this is just what you need. Can’t say this warrants classic of the
genre status or anything, but it’s a worthwhile addition to any stoner rock
fan’s collection. I kind of doubt anyone else will be interested, but then I
don’t think these guys really care. This sounds like music by fans for fans,
and as that it succeeds quite nicely. (Bob Ignizio)
Various – ‘Flying High Again: The
World’s Greatest Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne’ (Magick Records)
Seeing as this is the
ONLY Ozzy Osbourne tribute album I’ve listened to, I can’t really say whether
it’s “the greatest” or not. As far as tribute albums in general, though, it’s
pretty good. About half the songs on here are the sort of thing where you put a
bunch of all star musicians together in a studio and have them collaborate in
novel combinations. This results in things like Tim Owens singing “Mr. Crowley”
with Yngwie Malmsteen on lead guitar. That one comes across a bit over the top,
but combinations like Joe Lynn Turner on vocals and Steve Lukather on guitar
doing “Hellraiser” actually yield interesting results. The other half of this
tribute is comprised of bands (occasionally augmented by a guest). Children of
Bodom put their stamp on “Shot in the Dark”, Icarus Witch with guest guitar
player George Lynch deliver a smoking version of “S.A.T.O”, and Alex Skolnick
Trio closes the album with an instrumental jazz interpretation of “Goodbye to
Romance” which just might be my favorite track on here. If you like Ozzy and
you like tribute albums, I’d say this is worth picking up. (Bob Ignizio)
Like Paul
Dianno era Iron Maiden? Then you’ll probably dig these guys. Songs like
“Prelude to War”/”Thanatos”, “Graveyard of Empires”, and the instrumental “Rex
Mundi” have that same mix of metallic musicianship and almost punk rock rawness
found on Maiden’s first two albums. Not to mention the galloping bass lines and
harmony guitar parts. But as much as I dig the early Maiden worship, I’m glad
the band shows they can add some fresh touches to the formula on “Sea of Apathy”
and “Fear of Damnation”. Part of me would be perfectly happy to hear these guys
keep doing the Maiden shtick, but I think they have the songwriting abilities to
move beyond just emulating their idols. (Bob Ignizio)
I’ll be honest.
When I get a solo album from the bass player of a local metal band (even if
it’s a good local metal band like Girth, the band Adam plays for), I tend to
approach such a disc with more dread than anticipation. So it was a pleasant
surprise to find out that not only does ‘You Can’t Escape Life’ not suck, it’s
genuinely very good. No metal here, if that’s what you were expecting. This is
just straight ahead melodic rock that could best be described as mature
sounding. Adam plays bass and guitar on just about all the tracks, and even
plays drums on a couple. His main collaborator on this project is Jared
Levengood, who plays drums and some guitar, sings a couple of songs,
co-engineered the CD, and even wrote the two songs he sings. The other 8 tracks
are all written by Adam, though. Half are instrumentals, and the other half are
sung by guest vocalists Derek Deprator, Xela, Andy Elias, and Brian May (not the
guitar player from Queen; someone local with the same name). The only track
that didn’t work for me was “Go Away Mr. Telemarketer”, sort of a goofy
throwaway song compared to the rest of the material on here. Otherwise a strong
collection of material well worth checking out. For more info, go to
Nothing
super original here, but as far as bands heavily influenced by Kyuss goes,
Truckfighters are about as good as it gets. First of all, they don’t sound
exactly like Kyuss. There’s also a bit of Monster Magnet in this band’s
sound. Second of all, the songs, musicianship, and production are excellent.
If you’re dying for some good, fuzzed out sludgy stoner rock the way they did it
back in ’91, this is just what you need. Can’t say this warrants classic of the
genre status or anything, but it’s a worthwhile addition to any stoner rock
fan’s collection. I kind of doubt anyone else will be interested, but then I
don’t think these guys really care. This sounds like music by fans for fans,
and as that it succeeds quite nicely. (Bob Ignizio)
Seeing as this is the
ONLY Ozzy Osbourne tribute album I’ve listened to, I can’t really say whether
it’s “the greatest” or not. As far as tribute albums in general, though, it’s
pretty good. About half the songs on here are the sort of thing where you put a
bunch of all star musicians together in a studio and have them collaborate in
novel combinations. This results in things like Tim Owens singing “Mr. Crowley”
with Yngwie Malmsteen on lead guitar. That one comes across a bit over the top,
but combinations like Joe Lynn Turner on vocals and Steve Lukather on guitar
doing “Hellraiser” actually yield interesting results. The other half of this
tribute is comprised of bands (occasionally augmented by a guest). Children of
Bodom put their stamp on “Shot in the Dark”, Icarus Witch with guest guitar
player George Lynch deliver a smoking version of “S.A.T.O”, and Alex Skolnick
Trio closes the album with an instrumental jazz interpretation of “Goodbye to
Romance” which just might be my favorite track on here. If you like Ozzy and
you like tribute albums, I’d say this is worth picking up. (Bob Ignizio)
