Badmotorfinger-It's Not The End

Logic(il)Logic Records
2013

Italy's Badmotorfinger, who of course took their name from Soundgarden's third studio album, first started out in 2006. Early on the band played covers, but soon enough they would be found penning their own material. As with most bands there was a few bumps along the way with members coming in and members going out before eventually landing a solid line-up that included ex-Tarchon Fist guitarist Federico "HeavyRico" Mengoli. After fine-tuning their originally material the band found their way into the studio to record "It's Not The End". Indeed it isn't for this Italian band as it most certainly looks as if this album is just the starting point for Badmotorfinger to build off of. Or is that launch off of? The thing is, as far as debut recordings go, this one is a real cracker jack!  Lead vocalist Il Reverendo (Stefano Altobelli) does a pretty solid Lemmy impression on the mic which is rather fitting since A) It's obvious that Motörhead is one of Badmotorfinger's influences (whether they cop to it or not) and B) The group even covers the Motörhead track "Rock 'n' Roll" on their debut-album! Besides Motörhead, which is always a good starting point for bands to start rocking out to anyway, (influence-wise) there's some Kiss to their sound as well as early  Mötley Crüe (the more punk and less glam one) and "Slave to the Grind" era Skid Row. Squeeze all of those components into the mold of a modern hard rock/modern heavy metal band, coat it with fistfuls of rage and then scorch it with the burning flame of rock and roll and you will end up with Badmotorfinger! With 12 full-length tracks, as well as a 53 second introduction, "It's Not the End" is just one of those albums where you can't help but to get caught up in it's homegrown sense of familiarity. And since vocalist Il Reverendo has just the right amount of roughness going for him anyway this album feels natural and honest making it hit home all the more. This Italian 5-piece, which is rounded out by guitarist Alessandro Mengoli (Alex), bassist Massimiliano Tommesani (Tommy) and drummer Fabio Bussolari (Barra), really is on to something here given the fact that "It's Not The End" features track after track of catchy hard and heavy rock and roll that instantly sticks in your head! Usually at this point in the game (career-wise) bands are not hitting it out of the ballpark with their own material so it's surprising how well tracks like "Ride The Storm", "Loser", "No Second Chances" and "Afterlife" come across. They almost feel like familiar hard rock classics as there so well-written and executed. To make this kind of hard-livin' rock work you've got to believe in what you're doing and it's obvious that Badmotorfinger does just that. The energy behind this group is most definitely noticeable and when you hear Il Reverendo tackle a cut like "Nightmares" (like his life depends on it no less!) you'll get pulled deep in whether you like it or not! Although chances are good you won't mind getting wrapped-up with the hard rock this group pumps out. Heck, the way these guys roll you'd almost swear that here was a veteran band knee-deep in their careers and not some new upstart. Obviously I liked this album A LOT and I definitely see it hitting home with those who like their hard rock kind of dirty and mean.