Tag: reviews
1 Stonerider – Three Legs of Trouble (2008)
The band formerly known as Fight Paris, has a new CD out. This is a 2nd debut of sorts for this Georgia 4 piece. The band parted ways with their original name, singer and sound. Originally, Fight Paris was a hardcore outfit. As Stonerider, they have done a transformation of sorts, chaning their sound to a hard/classic rock type of sound.
Knowing that the Stonerider are on the road with Endeverafter and Airbourne, made their CD, Three Legs of Trouble one that I must check out. After listening to this disc a few times over the last couple of weeks, I can say I am glad that I picked this disc up.
The opening cut Rush Hour, Baby holds a lot of Led Zeppelin like style to it, while maintaining some killer groove. This is an excellent way to start off of a disc, and one of the best new songs I have heard in a while.
Back from the Dead keeps the pace going, and there are more Page-like guitar riffs throughout this tune.
I love the funky groove of Ramble Down. This song has a more Hendrix vibe to it, than Zeppelin. It is a very cool song, and one of the better ones on Three Legs of Trouble.
At this point in the album, the band seems to have a more modern rocking vibe that is somewhere between Buckcherry and Tesla than anything close to the 70’s era of rock.
Juice Man is more of a high octane rocker, while Wild Child is more of a mid-tempo song. Both Juice Man and Wild Child are great hard rocking tunes.
Champ Champagne shows off his bass playing talent in Bad Lovin Never Felt So Good.
I have to admit that I could have done with out the cover of Nazareth’s Hair of the Dog. Far too many bands have covered this Nazareth tune, including, Britny Fox, Guns N’ Roses, Warrant, MSG and countless others. This has to be the most over covered song by rock bands today. The Stonerider’s version isn’t bad. It is actually kind of cool, but I have come to loathe this song, after hearing so many variations of it over the years.
Matt Tanner has a great rock voice. He has a slight raspiness to his voice, which works well with this music. The guitars of Matt Tanner and Neil Warren deliver a very good, hard rocking bluesy type of sound that so few bands today are able to reproduce.
Without question, there is a new player in the resurgence of classic rock. Stonerider is going to be one of bigger new bands out there, if they play their cards right. Their album, Three Legs of Trouble does not disappoint. It is definitely one of the better releases of 2008! Don’t miss this record!
You can preview some of the songs at Stonerider’s myspace page.
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Rush Hour, Baby
2. Back From the Dead
3. Ramble Down 
4. Juice Man
5. Wild Child
6. Bad Lovin Never Felt So Good
7. Hair of the Dog
8. Bite My Tongue
9. Breakout
10. Shut My Mouth
Stonerider are:
Matt Tanner – Vocals, Guitar
Neil Warren (Staxxx) – Guitar
Champ Champagne – Bass guitar, Vocals
Jason Krutzky – Drums
3 The Underground Rebels – Insult to Injury (2007)
Insult to Injury is the debut CD by The Underground Rebels. This band features former Faster Pussycat members guitarist Brent Muscat and singer Kurt Frohlich.
Amazingly, this band sounds nothing like Faster Pussycat, and judging from the last Faster Pussycat album, that is a really good thing.
The Underground Rebels have a fresh rock sound, that leans a little towards the alternative/punk side of the fence. Frohlich’s vocals are clean and easy to listen to. The songs on Insult to Injury are primarily upbeat and somewhat infectious.
There are several stand out tracks on this record, of which Do It Again is my current favorite. The weakest tracks are the covers of Soft Cell’s Tainted Love, and Black Sabbath’s War Pigs. Tainted Love is an upbeat song, but The Underground Rebels slowed the pace down just a little bit, which changed the impact of the song. I do not like this version better than the original. It does seem to fit the record better than the cover of War Pigs. The War Pigs cover isn’t bad, but it seems out of place when comparing it to the other songs on this record.
The first song All That You Are is a song that I have played several times now, and like a little more each time I listen to it. Great Tune!
I Want More is extremely catchy. This is a song that sticks in my head. Its simple chorus, and easy to remember lyrics, makes this a song I will replay several times.
I have played the songs You and While I’m Away quite a bit, and I have enjoyed those quite a bit as well.
Insult to Injury isn’t the hardest of rock releases that I have listened to this year, but it does rock, and is worth checking out. You can hear The Underground Rebels tunes at their myspace page here.
If you like the CD, you can pick it up from CD Baby.com.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- All That You Are
- I Want More
- Insult to Injury
- Pullin’ Me Around
- Do It Again
- Tainted Love
- Hating You
- Down Anymore
- Washed Away
- You
- While I’m Away
- War Pigs
1 Down For Five – Time Has Come (Release Year – 2006)
Down For Five are graduates of the 2007 Rocklahoma Music Festival. This Tulsa based 4 piece band were winners of the Jpot Music contest and took the stage in front of thousands of people at the massive music festival.
I wasn’t fortunate enough to attend the festival, but I heard a lot of good things about this band, and decided to check them out.
Time Has Come has plenty of great tunes to make most Metal heads smile. This CD has a classic metal feel to it, and yet it still sounds modern enough to appeal to all generations of rock fans. I keep wanting to compare this as a mixture between Metal Church and Fates Warning, but that is probably not a good description of Down For Five’s sound. Nonetheless, I like the sound of this group.
Singer Syke Mochek can sing well but he can also bust out the metal snarl and screams. It is a very good balance between the two. Lead Guitarist, Janna Jordan’s back up vocals give the songs more melodies, and add a dimension to the tunes, that you will hear with few too little Metal acts today. The thing I like the most is the guitar playing of Jordan. Down For Five isn’t a band that just hides behind the distortion of 3 chord Metal. Janna Jordan has plenty of good guitar licks, that will put smiles on the faces of even the most anal of metalheads.
Don’t believe me?! Check out the video below for the song Senses, and see for yourself!
Senses
Down For Five has made a believer out of me. My only problem with Time Has Come is there aren’t enough tunes. I need more! Eight is not enough! I enjoyed this disc quite a bit, and will be listening to this CD to get my metal fix over the next few months.
For more information on Down For Five, check out their myspace page here, or their website, DownForFive.com. You can pick this CD up from the band’s website for a mere $10.00. Go get it today!
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Caricature
- Senses
- Insignificance
- Mirror Mirror
- Legend
- Passed Away
- Start Again
- Darkest Hour
8 Paul Stanley – Live to Win
Paul Stanley has released his first solo album in 28 years. Does it live up to the hype? Read on.
If you are picking this up, and thinking you are going to get a new KISS sounding CD, you are wrong. I would say that Live to Win is closer to the Bon Jovi style of music than KISS.
This CD is laden with a bunch of pop metal tunes some of which are obviously better than others. The title track Live to Win is pretty decent, and is one of the better tracks on the CD. Lift sound more like a modern rock tune and isn’t too bad. Wake Up Screaming starts with that electronic drum beat thing going on, and for some reason, this song gets on my nerves. Stanley’s voice cracks in a couple of places here as well. Everytime I See Your Around slows it down, and is not a good song to follow up W.U.S. I usually have to skip those to songs.
Bulletproof picks up the pace a little bit. Its another decent Pop Metal effort. I could almost hear this one on a KISS album.
The lyrics for All About You makes me think about Happy Bunny. 
It is an ok song.
Second to None, slows it back down again, and it is a better song than I expected it to be. It’s Not Me is a mid tempo pop/rock and it is a pretty decent song.
Loving You Without You Now slows it back down again. I do not like this song at all. It grates on my nerves.
Where Angels Dare ends this disc with a pretty good rock number. If more guitars and bass were added to this song, this could also easily be a KISS song. Not a bad way to end this disc.
I have listened to this a few times, and I don’t love or hate this disc. I think the guitars and bass on some of these songs are pretty thin. Stanley’s voice is certainly the focal point of all of the songs here. Paul sounds great on most of the tracks, but I can hear his voice crack in a couple of places. Its a solid effort from Paul Stanley. This disc makes me wonder how good a new KISS CD with new material would sound today.
Rating:Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Live to Win*
- Lift
- Wake Up Screaming
- Everytime I See You Around
- Bulletproof*
- All About You
- Second To None
- It’s Not Me
- Loving You Without You Now
- Where Angels Dare*
Best Tracks*
