This KILLER 4-piece from Eugene, Oregon was formed in 1997 and consists of Brad Humphrey on vocals, Lori Wilkie on guitar, Steve Mayea on bass, and Nathan Laccayo on drums [Brandon Pinnell played drums on the disc]. Eves 2nd Sin draw from a variety of Metallic resources to forge their own unique brand of heaviness. Hints of Sabbath, early Metal Church, and even The Misfits abound, but this crew avoids the copy-cat syndrome with clever arrangments, memorable hooks, and of course, SUPER HEAVY riffs up the wazoo! Slow, fast, midpaced, they got `em all! Great care was taken to ensure that each of the 11 tunes on the album stood apart from one another; no two sound alike, a pitfall many bands with more experience fail to avoid. Brad`s Mad Dog vocals are a perfect compliment to Lori`s inventive guitar riffs, as evinced on tunes like "Selective Misfortune", the psycho "Six Feet Under", "Terror In Black" and my vote for the best tune on the album, "The Keeper". This one has an EVIL, `70s` kinda vibe to it, coupled with early Death Metal overtones, and a cool melodic riff in the chorus. And I also like the fact that you can hear Steve`s bass; most of the time, the bass player gets buried in the mix in a lot of Metal releases! Lori tells me that the band will be going back into the studio soon and that the new stuff will be better AND heavier! Metal just the way ya like it! Go to the band`s site below for more information. [A BIG "thank you" to Lori for the CD!!]
This is going to be a quickie! Ya see, I don`t have a whole lotta info on this band, even though there`s a bio on their website! I`m on Webtv, not a `puter, so some of the words were too small for me to see, so I can`t tell you who`s in the band, other than they hail from Newcastle, England, are a 3-piece, and they play some of the HEAVIEST shit on the planet!! NuFutureCowboys lean a bit towards the Pantera/MachineHead side of things, but with a definite European feel [naturally!], as well as a more melodic sensibility. "Psycho Mind" is their first release and shows GREAT promise, as tracks like "Down" [a neck snapper!], the crushing "Sludge", the all-out sonic Blitzkrieg of "Break Me" [my favorite!], and the title track very LOUDLY demonstrate. All "Nu Metal" bands should take notes here! This review will probably be updated shortly, so stay tuned!
Sweden`s Daniela may be familiar to some of you; in addition to being a DJ, Rock club owner, manager, etc, she`s made the biggest name for herself reporting, interviewing some of the biggest names in Hard Rock [Rob Halford, Skid Row, to name but a few!]. In short, the lady knows the music business! So it was only natural that she would delve into the "other side", you know, the actual music itself! [She dabbled in her own Hard Rock outfit, Spirit, in the early `90s`] This 1 song demo is but a taste of things to come, and if "Ride The Future" is any indication, Daniela`s career is looking very rosey indeed! "Ride....." is more in Pop/Rock vein, with catchy hooks & melodies. HOW catchy? Well, I was humming it in the shower the other day, how`s THAT? You KNOW you`ve got a hit on your hands when it passes the infallible "shower test"! Daniela`s vocal performance here is first rate, never too over dramatic, just simple, direct and to the point. Hell, I can envision this tune featured in a movie soundtrack! In better musical times, it would most definitely be burnin` up the charts, and it still COULD! Check out Daniela`s website for ordering info. To sum it all up: Daniela ROCKS!!!!! [Note: This CD also contains pictures and info-files]
This one has divided certain portions of the Metal "community"! Some believe that Priest has gone Nu Metal , adopting a more modern Metal sound and abandoning their roots. These naysayers are also dead set against Tim "Ripper" Owens, and believe the band should get Rob Halford back ASAP, citing Halford`s "comeback" album "Resurrection" as the one Priest SHOULD have made. These people have a short memory! In 1998, Halford stated in an interview with Metal Hammer Germany that the genre [Metal] was "dead". He then recorded the Trent Reznor supervised Industrial project "2", which stiffed! In short, the Metal God SOLD OUT and came crawling back to champion the Metal cause once again! [I wonder if Rob would have come back to Metal had "2" been a success?] And as good as "Resurrection" was, it doesn`t alter the facts! For gods sake, Rob recently stated that Sum 41 is one of the great new Metal bands! Get a clue, Rob! Anyway, the new Priest album is "Demolition", and while it might not be the album that fans of "British Steel" were hoping for, it still kicks some MAJOR ass! "Machine Man" kicks things off, a biker anthem for the 21st century if I ever heard one, complete with one of those driving riffs that JP do so well! The sinister "One On One" is next. "Bloodsuckers" is the closest to a "traditional" Priest tune that you`ll find here, and one of my favorites, as well as "Hell Is Home". There`s more variation in the riffs, something lacking on 1997`s "Jugulator". Although Owen`s trademark air raid shrieks are downplayed for this album, his overall vocal performance here is superb, showing him to be much more than just "the guy who replaced Rob Halford". There`s even a ballad; "Close To You", but it`s a HEAVY one, don`t worry! I could do without the intros to nearly every song, something the band has indulged in of late. That`s a minor sticking point, though. Another rather silly complaint some have with the newer Judas Priest tunes is their "unintelligent lyrics"; funny, I don`t recall too much in the way of brilliant analytical insight from "Exciter", "The Ripper", or any of the Halford tracks. Look, if you want words with deep thought and meaning, go read "War and Peace". If you want skull splitting, face melting Metal, look no further! Pick up "Demolition" and judge for yourself....