Mox Nix-Mox Nix (Expanded Edition)

Minotauro Records
2013

Now this re-release is a long time coming and way overdue! Formed back in 1983, with this self-release initially released 2 years later, this Pasadena, Texas act was well deserving of lasting success. Instead Mox Nix was relegated to the "one and done" archives and the heavy metal community lost out on what would very well could have been a huge band. While material was recorded for a follow-up release, tentatively called "Red Planet", it was just not meant to be and the band would eventually fold. Mox Nix truly deserved a much better fate then the one they received back then in the mid-eighties so hopefully this expanded re-release will help the band out and draw in new fans. It was back in late December of 2010 when I did a feature on Mox Nix (as part of our Forgotten Gems series) and their lone 1985 album. You can check that out at the bottom of this review if you so desire. That particular article would lead to an interview with the band (  http://metalmark.blogspot.com/search?q=Mox+Nix+Interview+ ) and, at that time (July of 2011), it sure did not sound as if there was much hope of seeing anything "new" from the four members of Mox Nix.  Over time though things changed and when rumors began to circulate that the band was trying to get their self-titled album re-released a second time I made a promise to the myself and to the band. When and if the album ever saw a "proper" release on CD (it was re-issued once already back in 2001 with 2 bonus cuts-"Lightning without Thunder" and "Red Planet" tacked on) I'd cover it for the band. And yes friends, this is a "proper" CD release/re-release and then some! Not only does the band's original self-titled album sound better then ever (It remains a killer piece of traditional metal/U.S. power metal history!), but this expanded edition is stuffed to overflowing with bonus material! The 2 bonus cuts from the 2001 re-release are here (both "Lightning without Thunder" and "Red Planet" were re-recorded in 2000 for the re-release CD) as well as the following cut's from the "All Access" demo- "Ready or Not", "Scream for Mercy"-(All and "Never Again". Then you've got the following cuts from the "A Hard Place to Rock" sessions-"Don't Use Me", which is solid, hard and heavy metal as is both "Rescue Me" and "A Hard Place to Rock". The final track from those sessions, "Cut Throat", is quite possibly the best Van Halen song that was never written by Eddie and company! And that is a compliment to both bands as Mox Nix always knew how to lay down the rock in all the right places! Additionally, as if all of that wasn't enough for this expanded edition, you have "Fool's Game" and "Don't Push Your Love" which were both recorded and mixed by the one and only Bob Rock! So yes, this is one hell of a bad-ass re-release! If I've missed anything it wasn't intention. There is simply so much to this 22-track album. Yes, I said 22 tracks! Minotauro Records has assembled a perfect re-release of this cool album with the bonus cuts simply serving as the cherry on top! With a gate-fold cover, inner sleeve, various inserts, a brief bio (which opens up into a small Mox Nix poster!) and countless pictures this is one sweet release that is a MUST for Mox Nix fans! Of course even for those who might be new to the band this CD is a great pick-up. Straddling the line between traditional heavy metal and U.S. power metal the four members of Mox Nix (vocalist/guitarist Johnny Duff, guitarist Bruce Tousinau, bassist Robert Fernandez and drummer Joe Vernagallo) had more talent then even they probably knew what to do with, but the mid-late eighties were not kind to true heavy metal bands. Things are (thankfully) different now and what was once old is new again and the majority traditional heavy metal bands are fully-embraced by the public. So a band like this, which was there in the beginning and now has a nearly double-length album on their hands with this expanded edition, should fit right in and flourish. Tell your friends and tell your neighbors. Tell your family doctor, the postman and even your pastor! Tell them that Mox Nix, a tried and true, blue-collar metal band, is back for the attack and offering what could very well be the greatest expanded-edition of traditional heavy metal/U.S. power metal for sale as we speak! You'll be doing them a solid...


http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2010/12/forgotten-gems-mox-nix.html