Real variety this time from Christian thrash to good ole reggae and a bit of fun from a Def Leppard guitarist.
Man Raze: Surreal
You take a Girl, a Pistol and a Def Lep, mix a bit and see what comes out. Well one thing for sure is that it's good ranging from the fun sub-Police of "Winding Me Up" to the great "Shadow Man;" pure Def Lep glory. Sometimes these sort of supergroups just don't work; not the case on here at all. There are hints of all the band's represented. All eras of Def Leppard are hinted at here from their raw days to their later slick period. There are a few tracks on here that would be very out of place on the proper band's album.
Mostly however they are just a testament to how good Phil Collin is at what he does. He ain't a half bad singer either. This Man Raze disc is a bonus for those of us who like Def Lep. Oh yes and this release gets better and better with each listen. This is one of the surprise quality releases of 2008.
Bret Michaels: Rock My World
The Poison frontman is feeling flush now thanks to his reality show. Too bad that his songwriting is just as lacking as it always has been. Poison has always been and will always be a bit of naughty fun. The musicianship and song-writing was never that great but no one cared. From the opening track "Go That Far" to the modern hard rock of "Right Now, Right Here" there is lots to cringe about on here. The one highlight is "All I ever Needed" Bret's country ballad. It reminds one of "Every Rose has its Thorn" or rather the other side of the song. The song works because Bret does not be trying too hard.
Just make sure you don't let the CD get to "It's My Party" which is so bad it's chronic. If you want to remember Bret at his best just get out yer Poison's great hits. This'll just leave a bad taste in your mouth.
Believer: Extraction from Mortality, Sanity Obscure & Dimensions
Christian thrash re-issues that track a band going from trad thrash to a sound not unlike a lot of the Goth-tinged metal so popular these days. Quality re-issues from Metal Mind of a band that has far more influence in the metal world than most people realize. A bit like Voivod; they are mentioned by musicians to other musicians. Lyrically clever, hell one of them now has his own cancer clinic after getting his doctorate, lets realize early on that these are not yer gormless thrashers. Strings, female vocals and talent combine for something impressive.
It's a great pleasure to hear this stuff on CD. Believer are as good as you heard they were. Highlight of the bunch has to be the frankly impressive Dimensions album. It would be great if this lot were to reform. The time is right for their sort of clever metal.
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