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The Neon God, |
W.A.S.P.
Motorhead
Dokken |
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Just because you will never top opuses like Tommy or The Wall doesn’t mean that you can’t try your hand at a concept album. Maybe Blackie Lawless was inspired in a keep-up-with-the-Joneses way by Dee Snider’s attempt at rock opera from last year, Occulus Infernum. He was definitely inspired by the Who classic, as W.A.S.P.’s The Neon God starts off with an overture that is a see me/feel me/steal me riff virtually patented by the Who. Do you really need to know what the story line of this one is? No. Okay, it’s troubled youth. Surprised? There is some good guitar work here, but unless you are also especially fond of Blackie’s constipated Meat Loaf vocal style, it won’t be of much consequence. Who will be rollin’ in their rockin’ wheelchair first, Ozzy or Motorhead’s singer/bassist, Lemmy Kilmister? While Osbourne has become a parody of himself, Lemmy keeps pumping out gritty, metal pub rock. The mere mention of the man’s name inspires awe in a wide cross section of musicians from veteran stoners to young punkers. That’s the kind of rep that doesn’t need to be beefed up with guest appearances, and Steve Vai’s presence on two tracks (“Down on Me” and “Terminal Show”) is downplayed. Of course everyone would love a chance to play with Lemmy, drummer Mikkey Dee and guitarist Philip Campbell. After 11 songs of stomp and swagger, Motorhead wrap up Inferno with an acoustic number that shows off Lemmy’s talent on harmonica, “Whorehouse Blues.” This one’s a keeper. Since they were/are known as a “hair band,” wouldn’t it be more appropriate to call this album Hell Toupee? These guys have broken up and regrouped a couple of times since their heyday, and this incarnation is without axe slinger George Lynch. Their stadium-filling days are long behind them, but this album does a pretty good job at approximating the sound that got them there in the first place. If it were fifteen years ago, Hell To Pay could very well sell a million copies. Songs like “Escape” and “The Last Goodbye” show that the boys have still got it, and “Haunted” reveals that they’ve secretly always wanted to be Led Zeppelin. This release is unlikely to widen Dokken’s fan base, but those who are already there will enjoy it. —Kevin Wierzbicki |
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