Altitudes & Attitude-Altitudes & Attitude

Megaforce Records
2014

Here's a bit of an odd release and chances are it slipped by most of our readers just as it (almost) slipped right past me. You see Altitudes & Attitude is a side-project of bassists Dave Ellefson and Frank Bello. Now, you should be familiar with those two names but if for some reason you're not then that's David Ellefson of Megadeth and Frank Bello of Anthrax. Long-story short ladies and gentlemen, these two musicians/longtime friends were out traveling the world and doing these clinics (which I guess are now known as "Metal Masters"?) when they struck upon the idea of making a mini-album together. Most of the material was reportedly written while the pair was out on the road and here on their first studio recording Dave and Frank are joined by Jeff Friedl who is also the current drummer of A Perfect Circle. Naturally all the bass parts fall on both Dave and Frank and the pair even shares guitar duties*. But when it comes to the main man behind the mic? Well, then we're talking about one Mr. Bello and he actually do a bang up job singing on "Altitudes & Attitude"! Do you find that hard to believe? Go try on "Booze & Cigarettes" for size and then come back and talk to me about whose taking care of business night and day! With only three songs this could be dubbed either a EP or a single and I believe that it was filed under the latter when I initially  downloaded it off of iTunes. For some reason though this self-titled release from the oddly-named Altitudes & Attitude looks as it has now disappeared from the U.S. version of iTunes, but for future reference you can either download it or purchase a physical copy of it on Amazon. As to whether or not you should take that step really depends upon how you feel about rock and hard rock as that is pretty much what Altitudes & Attitude is all about. Anyone expecting thrash from Dave and Frank should keep on walking. "Altitudes & Attitude" opens strong with the gritty sleaze rocker "Booze & Cigarettes" and then ends the same way with the eighties metal anthem, "Here Again". And no, we are not talking about something akin to early Anthrax on the oh-so-right "Here Again", but rather a fine rocker that pays homage to the American metal movement of the early eighties. Back in the day when U.S. hard rock bands were just starting to light it up as they looked towards their British brothers for inspiration (with stars in their eyes and a gnawing hunger that could only be satisfied by even louder and faster guitar solos!) a nifty little number like "Here Again" would have made a real splash in the pond as they say. It's hard rock plus with the "plus" taking the form of imported British metal LPs and it's as good as (if not better than?) the down and dirty "Booze & Cigarettes". If you're counting though that is only two cuts out of three so what exactly is the missing puzzle piece of this 3-track recording? That would be "Tell the World" and while it isn't exactly a dud it in no way, shape or form holds a candle to the two previously-mentioned numbers that it sandwiches. It simply exists in it's own right, but there is no way whatsoever that it would be enough to discourage me from recommending this short and sweet release! I'd love to hear more from Dave and Frank, but with everything else going on for these two bassists I highly doubt that we'll see anything new from Altitudes & Attitude anytime soon. For more information on this rock/metal side project be sure to check out the group's official website here.


*The stone cold slayer that is "Here Again" features wicked lead guitar work from Gus G. (Firewind, Gus G., Ozzy Osbourne, ex-Arch Enemy (live), ex-Dream Evil, ex-Mystic Prophecy, ex-Nightrage)

Wrong Era-The Wrong EP

Atomic Stuff
2014

"The Wrong EP" is the debut offering from Italy's freshly-assembled Wrong Era. Formed earlier this year out of the remains of Italian hard rock band Sutuana, with this recently released EP containing four new tracks in addition to two remakes of old Sutuana songs, Wrong Era is made up of bassist (and now lead vocalist!) Marco "Sappa" Nicoli (Sutuana, Instant Karma, ex-Midnite Sun, ex- The Unripes), guitarist/vocalist Lorenzo Zagni (Sutuana, Lola Stonecracker) and drummer Gianluca Montanari (Sutuana). Recorded and mixed at SappaLand RockLab by band member Marco "Sappa" Nicoli, "The Wrong EP" is being promoted by the fine folks over at Atomic Stuff in another win-win situation for artist and record label! This match made in hard rock/heavy metal heaven has only helped to establish the key factoid that this very slick, six track EP is available for free download and streaming directly from Wrong Era’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/wrongeraofficial. Though it was initially presented to me as "rock in Italian" there is
a lot more to be said of this talented trio than that simple description or the above black and white artwork might suggest! A crackling fusion of heavy rock, alternative, post-grunge and the 1970's hard and heavy sound-scape, "The Wrong EP" is clearly in the right with this Italian rock band energized and amplified
by the presence of electronic elements! As much as the "lyrics ooze of discomfort" the music at hand is often times just as unnerving (if not more so!) with distorted vocals and studio trickery paving the way for band's one and only track "Wrong Era" to all but frighten the listener on an emotion plain! To be fair that bit of heaviness is the more extreme side of Wrong Era, but it does exist and it carries it's own distinctive attitude thus giving this rock trio's first piece of studio recording a fine and frightful edge upon which to build a more solid (and hopefully long-term!) foundation. You can find more information about Wrong Era at: http://www.facebook.com/WrongEraOfficial

Dagger-Mainline Riders 7"

High Roller Records
2013

Stockholm, Sweden's very own Dagger, which falls squarely in the category of side-projects that should be warmly welcomed with open arms and opened wallets, was formed in 2009 by some like-minded musicians. Ripped straight from their Facebook profile, which is where I found the bulk of information about Dagger anyway (as their promo profile section was as empty as my checking account) the group's influences include Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Riot, Iron Maiden, MSG, Whishbone Ash, Dio, Scorpions, Accept, Judas Priest, Montrose, W.A.S.P., UFO, Blue Öyster Cult, ZZ Top and Saxon. Whew, that's more then enough influences to build your band around, but, for some reason, I walked away from this 2-track release thinking about The Rods and Fastway. Maybe it's just me though? Anyway, back to the band at hand and it's the day jobs of the musicians involved here that is really interesting. You've got Jani Kataja (Mangrove, Sideburn), David Blomqvist (Carnage, Dismember),  Tobias Cristiansson (Grave, Dismember) and Fred Estby (Necronaut, Dismember). With that said let's look at what everyone does in Dagger. Lead vocals are handled more then effectively by Jani Kataja while David Blomqvist takes his guitar and carefully crafts solos that are simple and yet more then satisfying as only a Swedish band knows how to! While the riffs are played with a restrained and subtle air of  passion without a solid rhythm section in place it could all easily fall apart. That's where David's former Dismember band mates Tobias Cristiansson (bass) and Fred Estby (drums) come in to play. The pair keeps everything  in check and together with lead vocalist Jani and guitarist David the four musicians plays fairly straight-forward, no-frills (but just enough thrills to leave you wanting more) hard rock/heavy metal. The fact that it comes packed with a very distinct old-school charm only adds to it's appeal so let's hope that Dagger releases more material then just these two songs by the time it's all said and done!

Find out more about Dagger here: https://www.facebook.com/daggerofficial

Order your own copy of "Mainline Riders" here: http://www.hrrshop.de/navi.php?suchausdruck=dagger+mainline&JTLSHOP=0jo33fdmtn00kpj5mfup0uaqc3