Hair metal hodge podge

So the rules on this are I have these bags of hair metal discs and I reach in without looking, pull out two, listen to them and give some mini-reflections on them. After all it's hair metal they don't deserve that much time. It's not like 90% of the bands that did these albums put much thought or effort into their writing or recording. Here we go...


Warrant-Born Again
Curse my hands, I picked a Warrant disc. This disc got some praise back when it came out and that's why I bought it. It was supposed to be heavier and Jaime St James formerly of Black -n- Blue was brought in to replace Janie Lane on vocals. Warrant were terrible on their early albums, one of the worst hair metal acts during the time when lame hair metal bands were all the fashion. They were lame, dull and showed how bad hard rock could be. Now in 1992 they attempted to be heavier with their "Dog eat dog" album. It was a little heavier, but the results were like instead of a pile a poop it was a pile of poop with one rose petal laying on top. Anyways "Born again" was supposed to be heavier than this band had ever been, for whatever that was worth. It was...to an extent. Almost every song started out well, but only a few of them kept the momentum going. Not being heavy was always a problem with this band, but so was the lack of solid songwriting which still plagued this album. Although overall they tried, I hear that and on a few moments they managed to put together some fair pieces. Now on to the vocals. Janie Lane always struck me as a very dull vocalist. I liked Jaime St. James in Black -n- Blue, but here it sounds like his voice is burnt out and fried. The excitement he once had in his voice has been replaced by a dry sound and he's seems to straining to achieve even that level. So the vocal change was not a plus, but the music showed some promise. Yes, this was definitely an improvement for Warrant, but still not an album anyone should run after.


Uzi Suite-s/t
Here are the facts that I know about this album-it has four songs, the band was from Texas, it was recorded in 1990 and issued on CD by Retrospect in 2005. That's it, all I know for sure. No band members are listed on the inlay card, I don't know if it was originally a self-released album or just a demo. However beyond that I do know that is album is pretty darn good. The sound is mid-80's hard rock with a touch of metal (despite being released in 1990) along the lines of early Keel, Dokken and Icon. The vocalist was limited, but got the job done. The guitars are solid and plentiful and the rhythm section was above average  for this style. Even their ballad is solid although it's like a mid-80's ballad and not the shallow sappy ballads that were so big in the late 80's/early 90's. I bought this probably when it came out and liked it, but now it sounds even better to my ears than it did back then. This album was so good it could have made it on our Forgotten Gems segment. Except that I hesitated to do that just because I don't know much about this band. Definitely check this album out if you get a chance and if anyone knows more about them then feel free speak up and enlighten us.

There you go, I'll do another segment of this some time soon.

Hair Metal Hodge Podge with Every Mother's Nightmare and Diamond Rexx

Have not done one of these in a while so it was time to close my eyes reach into a bag filled with hair metal discs, pull two out, listen to them and either suffer or be surprised. Now if I said one of these discs was mainly influenced by Poison while the other disc was by a band with a singer who sounded kind of like Alice Cooper and they were heavy for a hair band then which band do you think you'd rather here? Well I am hoping that most of you will choose band B. So let's get into them and see.


Every Mother's Nightmare-s/t 1990
I remember seeing ads for this one when it came out, but I was full on thrash metal mode at the time so I didn't hear it then. Instead my introduction to this Nashville band was in the form of their 1993 release "Wake up screaming". Someone else played it for me and I found it to be mediocre and it suffered from poor production. It wasn't until just a few years ago then I spotted their debut in the bargain bin of a now defunct record store for $2. I picked it up not expecting much. The down side is these guys liked Poison a lot and their ballads are terrible as in skip over them kind of bad. However the up side is they are faster and heavier than Poison with a touch of blues rock thrown in and all of their non-ballads are at least decent. The music is generally tight although basic. They keep it going pretty well. The vocals are not as consistent, but certainly passable. This was a surprisingly decent album and I listen to it from time to time.



Diamond Rexx-Golden Gates 1991
This EP was the third outing from Chicago's very own Diamond Rexx. These guys had the glam look and a sound  that crossed metal and hard rock. The singer sounded somewhat like Alice Cooper and I said above they were on the heavier side of the hair metal spectrum. You can just sense the "however" coming. However as with their previous efforts this album was dull, almost painfully so. They can knock out a riff and the singer had some talent. Yet all their promise was flushed down the toilet due to lack of ideas. They begin a song, they run out of places to go about thirty-five seconds into it and then just play the same thing over and over. Even with only six tracks this album felt like it went on forever. It was maybe okay when I heard their debut because I remember thinking well, with experience they'll get better and grow as songwriters. Nope, they got worse with each album. What a shame.

There you go. What a surprising turn of events.

Hair Metal Hodge Podge-Johnny Burning and Kik Tracee

It's time for another round of Hair Metal Hodge Podge. I closed my eyes and pulled two discs out of the bag. Here they are.



Johnny Burning-Get up, get loose, get off!
Background-The guys hailed from Italy and released this album in 2008. I reviewed this album a few years ago and after a quick search through other reviews it looks like I was one of the few people who didn't fall head over heels in love with this one. I gave it a so-so review, but the record label must not have been happy with it because they said they'd never send me another one of their albums to review. Oh, well I only told the truth. Let's give it another listen and see if my view has changed.

Influences-Motley Crue, Pretty Boy Floyd,Poison,Saraya,Great White

The good-The music isn't original. However the players are all better than usual for hair metal. Which isn't saying a whole lot, but they are clearly fairly competent at playing.

The bad-In my original review I said the singer sounded like Vince Neil on helium. That's being kind because I almost wrote he sounded like a cross between Bret Michaels and Minnie Mouse. He's kind of in tune, but way too high. Even to the point of being difficult to understand. While the music is largely alright there are definitely several filler tracks.

Final word- Musically this is an alright album, but for me the vocals kill it.




Kik Tracee- Fieldtrip

Background- Kik Tracee had released the full length "No rules" in 1991 and this EP was their 1992 follow-up. No rules received some hype, but both these albums came out as hair metal/hard rock was being swept away by other musical trends of the time. Also around this time vocalist Stephen Shareaux was in the mix to possibly replace Vince Neil in Motley Crue, but of course that job eventually went to John Corabi instead.

Influences-Saigon Kick, Guns n' Roses, Bang Tango - It could be said that Kik Tracee were doing a little more of their own thing and not totally being influenced by established bands to some extent anyways.

The good-I wasn't so hot on "No Rules". It was kind of messy to me. I heard it when it came out and ignored this EP for years. I probably didn't heard until it was almost ten years old. The writing is far tighter on this disc. This was 1992 so they were trying to get away from the typical late 80's Sunset strip sound. Overall they created a fairly likable hard rock album with a few surprises. They sound far more comfortable here than on the previous album.

The bad-A couple of their songs overstay their welcome just a little. I really think they should have cranked out four more tracks and made this a full length LP. I don't think releasing an EP at the point in their career helped them much.

The final word-This EP was better than I remembered. Far from perfect, it's a little slow but a good effort.

There you go. I will pick two more of these in another week or so.

Hair metal hodge podge-Circus, S.E.X. Department

Okay, I pulled two more hair metal discs from my disc.



Background-This is actually a tough category because there does not seem to be much information on this band. This was recorded in Lindenhurst,Illinois in 1989 and the names of the band members are listed. That's about it though. The quality sounds like a demo so unless told otherwise I am assuming that's what it was.

Influences-Poison, Pretty Boy Floyd

The Good-It's interesting hearing a hair metal demo from this time period because so many of the major label releases were so slick that this sound is actually a welcome change for once. The singer has a decent voice and sounds solid when he is himself (the flip side of this will fall in the next category). The guitarist knocks out several decent rhythms and I like it even better cosnidering I know it didn't spruced up by layers of production work. Most of the songs are mid-paced rockers and they handle them nicely.

The Bad-The vocalist tries hard to sound like Bret Michaels on several songs and it's painful. My advice would have been save that stuff for the shower and just be yourself. Guitar solos, were ther any? I don't remember them, but that was kind of standard for this style.

Final Word-Fans of Poison style glam will like it although if you like everything smooth as silk the sound quality may turn you off. This was nothing new, but they were alright at what they did.



Background-Hailing from Italy this actually a one man band, that man being Kelly "Trash" Mendess. As one guy handles vocals, guitars, bass and drums. Although there is a second guy helping with the background vocals. I am surprised more hair metal acts are not just one guy because it does not take much talent to do this style of music. Maybe they need extra guys to do each other's make-up though. Not when they tour the frontman brings in a touring line-up. This was done in 2007 and there has been a second release since then.

Influences-Pretty Boy Floyd, Alleycat Scratch,Faster Pussycat

The Good-The vocals are slightly nasal, but really not bad. There's some degree of character to his voice. The pace and mood on a number of songs is not your usual glam stuff. For the most part that's a good thing, they take some chances and some of them work out.

The Bad-Many of the songs are very repetitive and I mean like the same words and over and over. The first half of the album is much better than the second half. So for about three of the final five tracks you will be pushing the forward button. Those songs that are weak are very dull and I mean 40 seconds in and you may have had enough.

Final Word-This is a mixed bag. The decent songs slightly outweigh the bad and I respect Mendess for doing this pretty much all on his own. Still even for retro glam acts there are far better bands out there doing this style.

Hair metal hodge podge- Maximum, Loud n' nasty

I have not bought a CD in almost two years I believe unless you count blank discs to record on. However there was a time when I bought way too many CDs. Recently I was moving some of my CDs to a different part of the house and I saw a bunch of hair metal discs I bought years ago and decided to start a new feature around them. So here's the deal I threw all these discs in bags and when I do a segment I'll reach in and grab two at random. The write a little about their background, list influences, what's good and bad about each plus a final word. That way I give this discs a second chance without spending too much time on them. The only rules are I have to use discs I already own and I can't use ones that I used in my Lesser of two evils segment years ago. There will be some barely known bands as well as some known bands too. So let's get at the first segment.



Maximum-Just for kicks

Background-These guys were from Boston and they signed to Enigma records around the late 80's. They recorded an album, but Enigma went under before it was released. So it set until 2002 when Sunset records from Germany got a hold of the album and finally released it.

Influences-Poison, Motley Crue, Pretty Boy Floyd

The Good- Musically these guys are fairly tight. Although basic the guitarist does an alright job of mixing up the tones. Most of the songs are medium fast in tempo which helps up their lack of ideas.

The Bad-The biggest problem is the singer has a limited range and he struggles a tune. He gets even worse during the ballads and I mean so bad that 10 seconds in I was cringing. He sounds like he had no style of his own. i can imagine him saying to his band mates "hey check out my Bret Michaels and next I'll do my Vince Neil". Of course all his vocals were the same-rotten. After that the biggest problem is their sound was generic. A lot of the songs move, but at best they sounded like second rate copies of their influences. Oh and they look silly too.

Final word-These guys were better than a number of bands that got signed. However I don't think that we missed out by having to wait over a decade to hear this one. I could certainly wait another decade or two before hearing it again.




Loud ' Nasty-Teaser Teaser

Background-Hailing from Sweden this trio knocked out a few albums in the previous decade.

Influences- Ratt, Motley Crue (early), Black -n- Blue (early)

The good-Vocalist Rob Nasty (later of XXX) had a deep raspy voice which works a lot better in this style than high pitched whining or nasal drone. The songs are simple, but catchy. Even the ballad is decent. Well, look at the influences- all decent bands in this genre.

The bad- The songs are so basic. What you hear in the first thirty seconds is all you are going to get from their songs. Most of the tracks are quite likable, but they never quite push hard enough to get something like the Crue's "Red Hot" or Ratt's "The morning after".

Final word-Nothing new here at all, I liked this band and have since I first heard them almost a decade a go. They don't try to be anything more than decent 80's glam, but they do achieve that goal at least. This album sounded as good as the last I heard it which was probably at least two years ago.

There you go. I'll be back with two more in the near future.