This “mini supergroup” featuring sidemen and touring members from groups like Guns N’ Roses, Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and The Stones recently hit the studio for the first time since their eponymous debut in 2012 to release a brief but curious pastiche of many elements of the ever-vague term “rock ‘n’ roll.”
Driven by the guitar crunch of the 1970s, the songs combine a rootsy feel with 1980s hair metal and more contemporary, borderline nu metal vibes. Almost like an apartment filled with musical roommates freely sharing each other’s space and things, the EP alters in and out of each style continuously, often from verse to bridge and from bridge to chorus. It is a daring experiment, but one gets the sense that the “apartment” may be a bit overcrowded.
In praise of the effort, it should be noted that the band strives to keep the record grounded in some way by having each instrument deliver a set vibe. The guitar drives the modern feel of things, the keyboards and occasional organ stick to keeping things rootsy, whereas the vocals adapt to everything with powerful yelps and growls reminiscent of Steven Tyler. Also, props should be given to the drummer for playing powerfully under all these different styles without sounding out of sync or genre. The low note of the EP is the final track, a fuzzy rendition of “Helter Skelter” that fails to deliver the groove and underlying madness of the original, or take it in any other significant direction for that matter.
While not everything may stick to the wall on this record, the musicianship manages (for a change) to contribute to the compositions and allow for so many genres to more or less project themselves together. Not everything flows perfectly, and not everything is necessarily very original, but the band shows potential to deliver something special in the future.
In A Word: Promising
