Charm City Devils-Let's rock -n- roll

10th Street/Eleven Seven
2009

This Baltimore based band once went under the name of Forty Acres. Now they seem to have more of a focus on their direction and "Let’s Rock ‘n’ Roll" comes across as being as much a proclamation as it is an album title. The band is already gaining a lot of hype due to their being on Nikki Sixx's label and their inclusion on the CrueFest 2. Fortunately they are quite capable of backing up much of the hype. Charm City Devils are a band with a solid appreciation of classic hard rock and enough knowledge of what is needed to keep their sound fresh. Many of their riffs have a sound that is undeniably reminiscent of mid-late 70's AC/DC and Aerosmith plus they know there way around some 80's style power ballads. They are not merely content to coast on the fumes of their influences because they know how to kick it into high gear too. The grooves are simple, but infectious and the band never hesitates as they steamroll along. The guitar sound is thick and chunky enough to really add some depth to the proceedings. The vocals are clear, crisp and confident. The production is sharp and loud enough to really bring out the band's strengths. A band like Airbourne tries to run this old sound on pure energy, but the Charm City Devils come at with a bit more finesse and in the long run that makes this a more memorable album. There were some definite moments here where I think they could have opened up more and pushed ahead to take some more chances. All in all it's the kind of hard rock album that's easy to like from the very first time you hear it.