Forgotten Gems-Sgt. Roxx-Push and squeeze and Weapon of miss distraction

Frequently I have come across some message boards and blogs where some hair metal fans will claim numerous small budget or self-released albums to be some overlooked gem. Frequently those people are wrong and easily pleased. One band I heard about some years ago on blogs and message boards was Sgt. Roxx who played around the Chicago area. They self-released an EP in 1990 called "Push and squeeze". The few people who had claimed to have heard sang it's praises. There were reports of copies of this CD going for hundreds of dollars of eBay. Well, of course that's just nuts even if it were good it couldn't be worth that much. However eventually Eonian records released Weapon of Miss Distraction which contained the six songs from the Push and Squeeze EP plus 12 other songs from demos and live recordings that were done between 1992 and 1994. I didn't run after it because I still expecting them to be run of the mill, but I was sent a copy to review. Hey, I was wrong those hair metal fans were right for once. These guys were legit, a real solid hard rock act that everything together. The sound is somewhere between Ratt, Cry Wolf, a heavier Poison and maybe a less bluesy Tora Tora. Nothing out of the ordinary, but almost every song out of the 19 are very likable. Particularly when I think of some the bands that got signed back then it's sad that a band who had their act together like this never made it. They recorded a demo for CBS records in the early 90's but didn't get a record deal. My best guess is that hailing from the Mid-west and being a year or two late to hair metal flood worked against them. They sure had the talent to get a deal. I listen to this album quite frequently. When I first heard I expected the song after the EP to be leftovers, but if anything the band got even tighter after the EP. Eonian records also included a booklet with a band biography and plenty of pictures. It's a nice package and you don't have to pay a bundle for six songs.

Sgt Roxx-Weapon of Miss Distraction

Eonian
2009

Sometimes eBay can be a place for people with more money than sense. So on result from that mentality is that some people pay hundreds of dollars for rare hair metal CDs. One such disc has been Push n' Squeeze an EP from Chicago's Sgt Roxx. It has been fetching high dollars even earlier this year. Well, Eonian records has paid it easier on the wallets of people who want to Sgt. Roxx, but did't want to shell a few hundred books for a CD. This disc includes a remixed version of the songs from Push n' Squeeze plus another 14 songs. All the tracks were done between 1990 and 1994. Despite the quantity of songs, the real question still remains is it any good? Believe it or not the answer is mainly yes. Now these guys were a lost gem, because there are very of those. However I think it's reasonable to say that Sgt. Roxx were better than many of the bands that were getting signed to major labels around 1990. They remind me a lot of Ratt only with less raspy vocals and a stronger rhythm section. They certainly are not going to overwhelm anyone with grooves or power, but they play a tight catchy style of glam that is highly influenced by 80's Sunset Strip bands. If I had heard them back in 1990 I would have been into them for sure. This disc also includes a band biography and photos in the booklet. A fine job by Eonian records in putting this together.