Sweet Creature-The Devil Knows My Name

Dïet Records
2016

Self-described by it's front-man as "old school hard rock with gloomy lyrics and melodies", Sweet Creature is a brand new hard & heavy quartet that hails from the capital of Sweden (Stockholm) and is made up of musicians from Crashdïet, ToxicRose, This Ending, and Gemini Five. The full-length "The Devil Knows My Name" is this band's (self-produced) debut offering and it is the end result of a side-project that was first dreamed up back in 2014. Founded and lead by vocalist/guitarist Martin Sweet (Crashdïet), Sweden's Sweet Creature seemingly exists in a upside down version of our world where Guns N' Roses, Cheap Trick, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, W.A.S.P., and Enuff Z'Nuff were Jane's Addiction's primary sources of  influence as they headed into the studio to record "Nothing's Shocking". It's a "crazy" world where the classic hard rock scene of the eighties was more substance than fluff and all the best bands were more concerned about the quality of their music than they were the size of their artificial hair. And finally it is a world where the band Sweet Creature has become a household name. Thankfully that version of reality slipped up BIG TIME and allowed the group to not only escape unharmed, but with "The Devil Knows My Name" in it's possession! Otherwise how do you explain away an album that is as good as this one is? Seriously though, Sweet Creature's first album, "The Devil Knows My Name", is a real gem. In addition to the reflective "Purpose In Life" (my absolute favorite moment on Sweet Creature's debut!) and the album's melancholy title track, "The Devil Knows My Name" features such standout numbers as "Time To Move On", "Away From You", "Our Moment", and "Perfect Day". From the opening moments of "Not Like Others" the lucky listener is treated to a full album's worth of expertly prepared hard rock numbers that are highly-memorable and custom-built for repeated spins. 
As good as "The Devil Knows My Name" is it was difficult at time to believe that Sweet Creature is such a relativity new band. Therefore credit must go to all of the veterans involved with this project. Let's start with this band's driving force and move back from there. While primarily known for his stellar guitar work in sleazy/glam rockers Crashdïet, front-man Martin Sweet excels in his new roll as lead singer for Sweet Creature. So much so it ultimately makes you ask the question whether or not that is where he rightfully belongs! Lord knows this Crashdïet shredder sounds like a natural born front-man on "The Devil Knows My Name", but Martin Sweet isn't the only voice you'll hear on Sweet Creatures' studio debut! Putting in his share of overtime, second guitarist Linus Nirbrant (This Ending, A Canorous Quintet ) not only helped produce this steady-rocking affair, but he also took a turn on the mic!! That means he pulled double duty and helped bring Martin Sweet's dream to life. With Martin's brother Michael TxR (ToxicRose) on drums and Tin Star (Gemini Five) on bass this album is that dream in all it's brilliant colors! Hopefully it is also just the first of what will be many Sweet Creature recordings to come....

Free Metal Monday: Tower-Tower

Self-Release/Independent
2015

For today's Free Metal Monday feature we have Tower from New York City. The band is expertly fronted by Sarabeth Linden and the name-your-own-price "Tower" looks to be the group's first studio recording. Produced, mixed & mastered by Jeff Filmer and the band-members themselves, "Tower" features three cool tracks in the form of "Flames", "Mountains", and "Hold on to Me". That last number is arguably the best of the lot and on this EP the line-up looks to be Sarabeth Linden (lead vocals), James Danzo (guitar),
Zak Penley (guitar), Philippe Arman (bass guitar & vocals), and Joey Bouchard (drums). Tower is every-bit as real and rock-steady as the city it hails from (after all this city gave us everyone from The Ramones to Nuclear Assault)! and because I believe in giving credit where credit is due this is yet another fine suggestion from the one and only Paul Rote! There are a lot of  good reasons why I follow Paul on Bandcamp, but the biggest one would have to be the fact that the two of us share similar tastes in music. In the case of  Tower that would be heavy rock/heavy metal with a none-to-subtle eighties tint! Paul was more or less spot on when he said "This lies somewhere between Mötley Crüe and Accept", but let's make sure to clarify that comment by adding the word "early" to Mötley Crüe and rewriting the last bit so that it says "Restless and Wild" through "Metal Heart"-era Accept. Otherwise that is Tower in a nutshell and on this three-track EP these New Yorkers want nothing more than to share their love of old-school hard rock and heavy metal with the old and young alike! As this is (potentially) the band's first recording there is obviously room to grow, but from what I hear on "Tower" this is one group that could do some serious damage if given a fair shot. I'd love to see what this band could do with a legit budget and hear how they would fare on a full-length album. For now this EP is a great addition to any one's personal collection and I will eagerly be hyping it to friends and fellow collectors!

French Metal Friday: Dygitals-Dynamite

Mausoleum Records
2015

First formed in 1984 by vocalist Hervé Traisnel, Dygitals is a French hard rock/heavy metal that was originally active until 1990 or so with their last release during that initial time period appearing in the form of a 5-track demo. That special event took place in 1987 all but assuring this band's well-established link between the past and the present. Now reformed (and as slick as ever!) and with original members David Dugaro (guitar) and Alain Clouet (drums) also in the fold, Dygitals will release this brand new 10-track album on May 5 in North America and on May 21 in Europe. And it's all thanks to the awesome folks over at  Mausoleum Records. This energetic and enthusiastic hard rocking band (which also features bassist Jack Gayffier and guitarist Jean-Marc Lavayssiere in it's current line-up) is most certainly a sight for sore eyes especially as they are no strangers when it comes to my ears! Thanks to the nifty 1985 "French Connection" split that they did with Steel Angel, Vytal and Yuggs and the inclusion of their great song "Stars Of Life" on the 2CD compilation "Revolution Hard-Rock" I was already somewhat familiar with Dygitals. I knew the score when it came these French metal rockers. Or at least I thought I did. Having just recently acquired a great deal more of their music (including 2012's excellent "Avé..."* which I've had a copy of for some time now) I can honestly tell you there was much more to the picture than I first thought possible when it came to this French act and the French metal community in general! After being away from the scene for a total of 19 years (!) these guys proved had tons of magic up their sleeves on the highly-related and highly-recommend "Avé..." so needless to say I was madly anxious for the release of "Dynamite"! When it comes to this lot and this (likely to knock your socks off!) new album let's just say they did not disappoint!

The highly-regarded Hervé Traisnel packs a real wallop on "Dynamite" while his fellow bandmates crank out the kind of high-energy heavy metal that used to rule rock and roll radio way back in the day and has been sorely missed! That's not to say this French band is retro or that their music is old and dated. Far from it! An album like "Dynamite" gives us even more reason to love good old fashioned heavy metal especially seeing as this band likes to emphasis the ROCK part of hard rock! This cult French metal act offers up a list of influences** a mile long the on their official Facebook page and fairly enough their sound has been compared to every one from AC/DC to Accept and even Quiet Riot to Iron Maiden! But, that's just what makes this French heavy metal act so much fun! Dygitals is everything you love about hard rock and traditional heavy metal only better! Occasionally bluesy around the edges, "Dynamite", which is indecently enough the band's fourth full length album and second since the band came back together in 2009, is commercial enough to appear on the radio and yet the band's new album is most definitely a metal platter for those of us who still hunger for the real thing! Produced, engineered and mixed by Didier Chesneau at MII Recording Studio in Forainvillier Dreux in France, "Dynamite" needs to be heard by a much wider audience. Here's hoping then that the disc will do as well here in the U.S. as it will do in the band's home country where they still retain a loyal following. Granted it's not much, but you can hear a bit of the title track by checking out this video:

*Be sure to check out the spot-on review of this album over at Two Guys Metal Reviews. Fellow bloggers and all around cool friends, Two Guys Metal Reviews is one of my favorite sites and they have turned me onto more great music than I can count!

**AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Accept, Judas Priest, UFO, Scorpions, MSG, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Kiss, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Trust, Warning, Ratt, Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore, Malmsteen, Van Halen, Y&T, Dio, Foreigner, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, Dokken, Pretty Maids...