Sideburn-Electrify

AOR Heaven
2013

On Sideburn's latest release, which features 11 regular tracks on the digital version with 1 bonus cut added onto the vinyl version ("Lazy Daisy Live") and 2 additional bonus cuts ("Never Kill The Chicken Live" and the Beau Hill-mixed "Rockstar") added on to the CD, it takes only a few seconds of album opener "Bite The Bullet" to see where it is this one is going. If the thought of Bon Scott-era AC/DC forming a supergroup with the likes of Rose Tattoo, Krokus and, to a lesser extent, Cinderella and ZZ Top is the stuff that you lay awake at night dreaming about then put down that mouse in your hand and head right here: http://www.sideburn.ch/. Don't ask any questions friends. Just work your way over to this Swiss act's website and you'll be able to find out how to order this CD for yourself. For this is one band that has the whole AC/DC, Rose Tattoo and Krokus vibe down pat. Well, mostly it's AC/DC, but you get my drift. If you need a little more then just that description to persuade you though then read on. These Swiss rockers are in no way new to the party even if their latest release sounds new and fresh! Of course there is a reason they sound so "young" as we will find out shorty, but for now a very brief history lesson is in order. The band's story goes way back to the mid-eighties when they were first known as Genocide. Back then it was all about then kind of traditional heavy metal that is born out of a love and respect for bands like Judas Priest. The more "modern" version of Sideburn though is traced back to 1997 or so. Their first album as Sideburn was the aptly-titled "Sell Your Soul (For Rock 'n' Roll)" on which the group began their new life as followers of the almighty rock and roll riff! Fast forward to the here and now and on "Electrify" the group welcomes in fresh blood in the form of three new "young" members. Joining this rock and roll train are guitarist Lawrence Lina & Mike Riffart and bass player Nick Thornton. These younger rockers add extra fuel to the fire that is Sideburn and make an album like "Electrify" sound almost young and hip! Sideburn, which is fronted by the rustic lead vocals of  Roland Pierrehumbert (Roland also plays harmonica here!) and completed by drummer Lionel Blanc, converge on the exact spot on the map where hard rock and classic rock meet and, thanks to the added young blood, they do it in a fashion where it sounds both modern and historical! In addition to the group's mentioned above this is a release that seems like it would be well-suited for fans of  The Godz, The Angels and Airbourne. The leads are terrific examples of a time long passed when honest, old-school rock and roll/hard rock still ruled the radio and group's sung about what mattered most (women, rocking out, partying, etc). The music sizzles with electricity in a way that groups like Kix used to and in their hearts the members of Sideburn sure seem as if they are all about the glory of rock and roll and everything that goes along with that! It's obvious from the get-go that they are having a fun time at what they are doing and they want their fans to have just as good of a time too! Given the album's various song-titles here like "Devil May Care", "Bad Boys, Bad Girls, Rock 'n' Roll" and "Shady Katy" (which is one catchy number!) you know this album caters to the blue jeans and leather jacket crowd, but with it's easily accessible take on barroom blues rock ("Black Powder") there is more to this one then initially meets the eye! This is one band that isn't afraid to try their hand at something "unusually". The band throws a crazy curve ball the listener's way with countrified rockers such as the Kid Rock-like "Bad Reputation" (which is pretty damn fine!) and the near honky tonk number "Destination Nowhere"! Both work in their own right and add an extra (and quite different!) twist to an otherwise near-nonstop rock fest! Other then those two tracks (which end the regular version of this album by the way) it's all about high energy rock and roll folks so if country-tinged hard rock isn't your thing it's not as if it really defines the direction of "Electrify". Much like other bands I've had the pleasure of covering this past year such as AC Angry, 42 Decibel and The Deep End (all of which are equally recommended) Sideburn offer the listener an alternative to modern radio rock/radio metal's stranglehold. This is real, honest to God, (hard) rock and roll which should never, ever fall out of grace!

Krokus-Dirty Dynamite

The End Records
2013

God bless Krokus. Come hell or high water these guys just continue to play sweaty, get your swagger on, hard rock and on "Dirty Dynamite", the band's soon to be released seventeenth studio-album, the good times just keep on getting better. This Swish band was formed in 1974 by bassist (and original lead vocalist) Chris von Rohr and guitarist Tommy Kiefer. While listening to this album (especially a track like the foot-stomping "Let The Good Times Roll") it's hard to fathom that the band's first album (1976's "Krokus") was more classic rock/prog rock then this kind of soul-kicking, grizzled hard rock. Really it wasn't until the band's forth album, 1980's "Metal Rendez-vous", that Krokus started to play that familiar/much loved hard rock we all know. Since then this band has kept pumping out real rock. Alright, let's get this out of the way. Yes, Marc Storace has always sounded like Bon Scott. It is what it is. Frankly, if you ask me (and even if you don't ask me I'm telling you!), being mentioned in the same sentence as a legend like Bon Scott is a honor not something to frown about. So yes, Krokus are going to sound somewhat like AC/DC thanks to Marc's vocals. And? It's not like it takes anything away from the gritty nature of  this band's thunderous brand of hard rock! So move on folks because this guy could always sing. On "Dirty Dynamite" he just proves that getting older doesn't mean you have to stop rocking. Marc still has the pipes to easily carry songs like "Bailout Blues" and "Hardworking Man". As this album was two years in the making, with Chris von Rohr serving as producer, everything sounds heavenly heavy from the opener, "Hallelujah Rock n Roll", all the way to the last cut (the aforementioned rocker), "Hardworking Man". The sound is clean and everything sounds as if it's in near perfect sync. "Dirty Dynamite" was recorded at the legendary Abby Road Studio and you can feel the electric buzz/mystical magic that was started all those of years ago.The band pays homage to the studio's past with a sincere cover of "Help". In case you're not old enough to know, or your parents never schooled you in the history of rock and roll, "Help" is a classic song by The Beatles. Without stepping on any shoes, or trying to top the original (which is sadly what happens far too often when artists try to cover The Beatles), the guys in Krokus make "Help" there own while acknowledging one of the bands that started it all.  Of course the band's own brand of rock isn't too shabby either. "Rattlesnake Rumble" is simply a great power rock number. No matter how many times I've listen to this album it still gets me how strong some of these tracks are. With most older bands the quality tends to dip by this this point in their careers. That's if a band can even make it as long as Krokus has. While it's not all perfect ("Better Than Sex" sounds like a throwaway cut no matter how you slice it) this sure as hell beats most of what's passing for "rock" these days on the radio. Take "Go Baby Go", with it's mile-long blues streak, and put it next to some of today's rock and you'll hear how experience makes all the difference. There's just some really good hard rock on this new album. Just try not to rock out while listening to "Let The Good Times Roll". And the title track has a swagger all it's own that would Mick Jagger stand up and take notice!. Now, the band's last studio album, "Hoodoo", saw the song "Hoodoo Woman" landing on the soundtrack of the movie "Saw 3D" so Krokus is not only still relevant, but that just goes to show how universal their brand of rock is and that they can find a place in today's world to stake their claim. These Swiss legends have been blazing a path through rock's landscape since 1976 (when I was just 3 years old!) and on their seventeenth studio album they prove that there's still fire burning deep inside. There's more then a few singles on this album to prove how capable Krokus still is, but there's nothing commercial about "Dirty Dynamite". I mean other then the fact it could end up being a huge commercial success for the band if today's finicky listeners give it a chance. Fans of Krokus should find plenty to love about this new album, but this release should also be a mandatory listen for young rockers so they can hear how hard rock is supposed to played. 

Intractable -Inner Decay

Self-Release/Independent
2012

It's a tragedy, but as this LP was released on December 22, 2012 it would have made a wonderful Christmas present to myself from myself. Those are the best kinds of presents after all. Thankfully I'm hearing about these guys now. The thing is I'm not sure why it's taken this long? For the life of me I can't seem to figure out how it is or why it is that good bands go unnoticed these days while we are, like the winter snow storm hitting our west coast, covered under a large pile of fluff! If I had a dollar for every good heavy metal band that got pushed aside in favor of some paint-by-numbers, "What's new is what we're gonna do!" band I'd be able to retire to the beautiful state of Tennessee (long, sad story for another day). That's neither here or there though so let's pin-point what it is about these Swish metal maniacs that makes me want to living my living room into a mosh pit! If I had to say one or the other it's thrash metal when it comes down to which genre this death/thrash four-piece leans more heavily on. That's not to say it's strictly a mash-up of the two extremes. Within the monstrous, crunch-happy bass playing of  Michael Schulerwould there's a shake or two of groove to be found within "Inner Decay". It's well within the Exhorder/Pantera school of thought but in NO WAY whatsoever does it slow this thrash train down! Formed in 2006, and lead by drummer/vocalist Benjamin Kottmann, this band muscles their way track after track of sick thrash. Guitarists Markus Hospenthal and Dominik Meier keep things intense and intriguing with the end result being a band that exists somewhere between the aggressiveness of Pantera, the old school thrash of Testament, the new school thrash of Toxic Holocaust and and the deathly thrash that is Skelentonwitch. They have managed to take a self-financed project and turn it into a professional-sounding modern metal album. With this being only their debut-album, and already a must have for death/thrash metal enthusiasts, there's something to be said about where this young band is going. You can find this 12-track beast on sites like Amazon and iTunes.