By Metal Dave While most tribute albums are obvious contractual jailbreaks, Ignitor’s “Mix Tape ‘85” comes off like a license to kill. Why be Poison when you can be Venom? Looking past overbaked heroes like Van Halen, KISS and AC/DC, Ignitor mines the darker corners of the heavy metal underground and breathes new fire into [...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Ignitor Rekindles Classic Old-School Metal
Posted: 8th April 2013 by admin in ReviewsTags: Agony Column, ignitor, jason mcmaster, Mix Tape 85
0
‘Sacrifice’ Lives Up to Saxon’s Power & Glory
Posted: 21st March 2013 by admin in ReviewsTags: biff byford, Sacrifice, saxon
By Metal Dave Refusing to follow their British metal peers down the path of “creative” bloat, Saxon returns lean and fierce on upcoming album, “Sacrifice.” A jolting thrill ride of anthemic thrash and crunching, mid-tempo swagger, “Sacrifice” continues Saxon’s celebrated themes of rocking hard, riding free, working-class pride and warrior souls. Even better, it’s all [...]
Rudy Sarzo’s ‘Off the Rails’ Chugs Along, Offers Unique Insight Into Life With Rhoads
Posted: 20th February 2013 by admin in ReviewsTags: blizzard of ozz, Off the Rails, Ozzy Osbourne, quiet riot, randy rhoads, Rudy Sarzo
By Metal Dave Written as a heartfelt tribute to his dear friend Randy Rhoads rather than a dirt-dishing tell-all of Ozzy Osbourne excess, Rudy Sarzo’s “Off the Rails,” takes a while to build up steam. Fortunately, Rhoads was such a charismatic soul that any insight at all is still treasured like magical dust. Tedious at [...]
Review: The Last Vegas Rolls Out Good Tunes With ‘Bad Decisions,’ 2F2D’s Album of theYear
Posted: 18th December 2012 by admin in ReviewsTags: 'Bad Decisions', 2012 Album of the Year, chad cherry, nikki sixx, the last vegas, whatever gets you off
By Metal Dave The Last Vegas from Chicago may be dicey on geography, but who cares where you’re going when you’re having this much fun? Handpicked to tour with Motley Crue after an impressed Nikki Sixx decided to produce their 2009 album, “Whatever Gets You Off” — and then holding more than folding while opening [...]
Dangerous Toys Reunion Always a Big Bang
Posted: 30th November 2012 by admin in ReviewsTags: dangerous toys, Dangerous Toys Reunion, Hellacious Acres, jason mcmaster, Pissed, red eyed fly
Austin rock legends Dangerous Toys reunite Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 at Red Eyed Fly in Austin. Ticket info here. Review below is from 2008, but serves as a safe-bet preview for this Saturday’s upcoming annual reunion. Hey, why fix the Toys if they ain’t broken? By Metal Dave Santa’s worst enemy returned with a bang [...]
Review: Aerosmith Delivers Classic Gems, New Rockers, High Energy at Austin Concert
Posted: 18th November 2012 by admin in ReviewsTags: Aerosmith concert review, Formula One Austin, Frank Erwin Center, Music From Another Dimension
By David Glessner Special to the American-Statesman Of all the well-oiled machines in town for Formula One weekend, none have survived more mileage and wreckage than legendary rockers, Aerosmith. Long sober and back on track following singer Steven Tyler’s detour to “American Idol,” the bad boys from Boston screeched into the Erwin Center on Friday [...]
Lower Class Brats: ‘Rock-N-Roll Street Noize’
Posted: 18th September 2012 by admin in ReviewsTags: lower class brats, Rock-N-Roll Street Noize, street punk
By Metal Dave Fifteen years after proudly proclaiming they’d rather be hated than ignored, the Lower Class Brats are still driving harder than a stolen getaway car. Armed with the newly issued six-song EP, “Rock-N-Roll Street Noize,” the enduring Austin street punks show no signs of aging oh-so-gracefully. Opening with the “Clockwork” tick of “King [...]
Review: Prima Donna, ‘Bless This Mess’
Posted: 7th August 2012 by admin in ReviewsTags: Bless This Mess, Glam Rock, Prima Donna
By Metal Dave Glessner A velvet goldmine of bygone garage-glam, Prima Donna’s “Bless This Mess” (Acetate Records) is a saucy cocktail of T. Rex stomp stirred with Stardust style — and then spritzed with a squeeze of Lennon. Besides obvious – and wholly respectable – nods to the Beatles, Bowie and Bolan (“Maxine,” “Feral Children,” [...]
‘Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N’ Roses’ aka ‘Welcome to the Bungles’
Posted: 11th July 2012 by admin in ReviewsTags: guns n' roses, stephen davis, watch you bleed
By Metal Dave The most astonishing takeaway from Stephen Davis’ “Watch You Bleed” is not some tasty tidbit about Guns N’ Roses, but rather all the mistakes that flowed unfiltered onto the pages. Davis, you may recall, is the highly acclaimed author behind the classic Led Zeppelin book, “Hammer of the Gods,” and the Aerosmith [...]