I can say nothing against this CD, because I enjoyed every minute of it and am sorry to have to move on to other things. If you like any of the bands mentioned in the above two paragraphs, get this and I guarantee it will put a smile on your face.
Rival Sons: Pressure & Time
When you are talking dead ringer bands, it's hard not to think of Rival Sons. Despite the lead singer protesting that it annoys him when people compare them to Led Zeppelin, it's hard to miss the comparison. Hard rockers and uber-geeks outside Canada might find this lot a less-Eastern instruments version of The Tea Party. Anyone wanting a taste of this band before going for the full CD should check out the Classic Rock taster this month.
You could argue that this bunch is the U.S.’s answer to The Answer. When you consider that this bunch have opened for AC/DC, Kid Rock and are now doing a tour with Judas Priest, that isn’t far off the mark. Rival Sons don’t bother modernizing their sound. It's pure late '60s white boy blues as peddled by Led Zep, the Yardbirds and all their ilk. It's timeless music that doesn’t have to be modernized at all. “Burn Down Los Angeles” might in fact be a reaction to that musical modernity.
Long and the short of it, it's easy to understand why there is a lot of buzz in classic rock circles about this group. I have a prediction. You get this CD and you will probably find yourself getting their first one. Yes, it is that good. For once, all the hype is not a load of ole’ bollocks. Robert Plant is off doing Band of Joy. Rival Sons will scratch that need for Led-Zep-esque quite nicely, thank you. The first truly essential release for hard rockers of this year.
In Legend: Ballad’s n’ Bullets”
I bet you never listened to Ben Folds Five, during the bit you remained awake, and said to yourself the following. “I know what would be cool: a metal Ben Folds Five!” Fortunately, In Legend had that thought and have produced this quite enjoyable album. Instead of having a guitar as the focus instrument, it's a piano. Now you could argue that various classic composers of the heavy variety have been doing this for years. This might center around a piano, but it's still heavy.
Article comments
1 - Jennifer
Alpha Tiger: Men Or Machine - OMG, that's a beautiful song. I'm going to download it to my iPhone now. Thanks
2 - Pub
Awesome songs...So thanks for an informative and entertaining article which has pulled me away from the day job for a happy five minutes!