Billion Dollar Babies - Die For Diamonds

Billion Dollar Babies - Die For Diamonds
2010, Esmerelda Music Group

I think I just relived my much-maligned childhood. Sweden's Billion Dollar Babies managed to capture the zeitgeist of 1980's hair-metal in 38 minutes of pure rock n roll glee on their latest album, Die For Diamonds, due out September 8, 2010. You'd guess the members of Billion Dollar Babies were raised on a regular diet of Alice Cooper, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Journey, Loverboy, Billy Squier, Whitesnake, The Scorpions and perhaps a bit of Ratt from the flamboyant flair and more than competent rock n roll they espouse. Just sit back and take Die For Diamonds in; you could imagine most any of these songs rolling out of the radio or showing up on MTV circa 1985.

Die For Diamonds opens with "Boy's Night Out" featuring a purely 1980's approach to hard rock complete with a horn section. Vocalist Frankie Rich is a dynamic and engaging front man even on CD, able to deliver lyric passages or work up a rasp that even David Coverdale would be proud of. "Boys Night Out" is very catchy and highly familiar although it appears to be an original track. "Highest Mountain" is a big rock tune that's deeply melodic but has enough of an edge to it to feel modern. This transitions into the big open arrangement and vocal triads of "Restless Minds", a great tune that soars. Rich sounds like something of a cross between Steve Perry and Klaus Meine here. Billy Squier fans will love "Lose It", which sounds like it might have been an outtake from one of his mid-1980's recording sessions. The song has an animalistic, urgent feel, and a melody so catchy you'll be humming it for days.

"Key To My Heart" is pure power rock love song, and would have made Billion Dollar Babies the kings of MTV at one time. "Right On Time" is all about the virtues of Friday night out with the perfect girl. There's some classic rock n roll piano work buried in the middle of this song that's worth checking out. You won't be able to help yourself from singing, tapping or even dancing along. Billion Dollar Babies show a bit heavier edge on "Stand Your Ground" and "Nineteen Ninety Four". The former is a solid album cut that would play great in a big stadium, while "Nineteen Ninety Four" is a catchy beast with one thing on its mind. The song isn't much on subtlety but certainly is entertaining. Die For Diamonds closes with "We Don't Live Forever", an energetic rocker reminding listeners that life is short and admonishing them to make the most of every moment.

Billion Dollar Babies may date themselves with their sound, but the songwriting is fresh and sharp and fun. This is a band that's having fun making music, and it shows on Die For Diamonds. If you crave 1980's hard rock/hair metal but want the sound of a band you haven't heard hundreds of times in the past twenty-five years then Billion Dollar Babies will be right up your alley. This is rock n roll at its best.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Billion Dollar Babies at http://www.billiondollarbabies.nu/ or www.myspace.com/bdbabies.   Die For Diamonds drops on September 8, 2010.  You can order digital copies from Amazon.com.  The CD version can be order directly from Billion Dollar Babies on their website.

Review: Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus: Conquering Heroes

Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus: Conquering Heroes
2009, Fuel Label Group
Carmine Appice has legendary status in the world of Rock N Roll. A founding member of Vanilla Fudge, Cactus and Beck, Boggert & Appice; Appice has also played with KGB, Paul Stanley, Pink Floyd, Stanley Clarke, Ted Nugent, King Kobra, Blue Murder and Ozzy Osbourne. Appice also played in Rod Stewart's band for a time, co-writing Young Turks and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy. In 1995, Appice created the Guitar Zeus project, an opportunity to do one-off performances/recordings with some of the best guitarists in the world. A total of three Guitar Zeus albums were released during the 1990's, featuring most of the top guitarists of the previous 20 years. Conquering Heroes, released August 25, 2009, compiles the best of those performances on two CDs.

Fans of 1980's Rock will have a field day with Conquering Heroes. Take your pick: Mr. Big's Paul Gilbert is here, Neal Schon (Journey), Brian May (Queen), Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson), Elliot Easton (The Cars), Mick Mars (Motley Crue), Warren DeMartini (RATT), Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) and even Steven Seagal. If the 1970's are more your thing, you can choose between Steve Morse (Sea Level/Deep Purple), Ted Nugent, Denny Laine (Moody Blues/Wings) or Bruce Kulick (KISS, Meat Loaf). Highlights include the Progressive guitar wizardry of Yngwie J. Malmsteen (This Time Around), Wayne DeMartini (Perfect Day), Ted Nugent (Even Up The Score, Days Are Nights), Ty Tabor (Killing Time, Trippin' Again), Slash (Where You Belong), Kenji Kitajama (My Own Advice) and Mick Mars (Under The Moon And Stars).

Conquering Heroes is a great opportunity to catch some of the biggest guitar heroes of the past two generations doing what they do best, and occasionally offering some surprise turns in the process. This is some of Appice's finest work behind a drum kit, and each tune runs over with the vibrant energy of a new relationship. If you yearn for the days of the strutting guitar god, then Conquering Heroes is for you. Very well done.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Carmine Appice and the Guitar Zeus project at www.myspace.com/guitarzeus or http://www.carimappice.net/. You can purchase a copy of Conquering Heroes at Amazon.com.

Review: megaphone - Exit Silent Mode

megaphone - Exit Silent Mode
2009, megaphone

megaphone are the reigning princes of Orlando, Florida's Hard Rock scene, regularly outdrawing other local bands and even gaining opening spots for artists such as Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley, Everclear, Seven Mary Three and Edwin McCain. Their debut album, 2005's For Crying Out Loud had several tracks featured on MTV's Made and garnered radio play across Florida. While For Crying Out Loud was representative of the band, their latest album, Exit Silent Mode more accurately captures megaphone's live sound across 12 songs and a number of searing guitar solos.

Exit Silent Mode opens with Write It Down, sounding like a cross between 1980's Pop-Metal bands like Ratt and Poison mixed up with a bit of Modern Rock ala Three Doors Down. Big Hooks and a fat guitar sound over a driving beat make this a treat for the ears. Gravitate is manna for hard rock fans, kicking serious axe while holding tight to big Pop hooks that will send you spinning. This has become megaphone's biggest song live and is worth the price of admission. The Sin has a Jersey feel, reminiscent of Glen Burtnik's writing with Plinky. My Favorite Disaster finds megaphone reaching for the commercial lynchpin; this is Modern and Pop Rock radio fodder. It's not as dynamic as some of the heavier material, but proves megaphone can play on the big stage. What If is a big rock anthem with a chorus you won't be able to shake that challenges listeners to let go of petty concerns and grab on to what's real.

Whisper and Uncelebrated continue the migration to a more Pop sounding Hard Rock that enters the Bon Jovi of the late 1980's territory. We Were Young sticks with the mellow Hard Rock ethic before megaphone amps things up a bit with Making Sense, which may be the best tune on the CD. It's not a complicated tune, straightforward in composition with big hooks, good harmonies and a fast-driving rhythm that would play well to radio (Modern Rock and Pop). Exit Silent Mode closes out with The Last One, a dark and mildly ominous tune sketched in minor keys that reminds listeners that no matter how much time you think you might have the end could be right around the corner. The song challenges you to step up and "go for broke". It's an interesting composition, not really typical of the sound presented by megaphone thus far on Exit Silent Mode but not out of character with it either.

megaphone is an interesting band. Walking the line between 1980's glam and the current trend in Modern Rock isn't all that unusual, but megaphone has the panache of the former and the clean lines of the latter, which is the reverse of what many bands do today. The material on Exit Silent Mode is mixed with a lot of ups and downs, but megaphone has the personality and panache to carry the weaker songs. When everything is working, megaphone approaches greatness. How this plays out over time is anyone's guess, but suffice it to say you can't go wrong with megaphone or Exit Silent Mode.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about megaphone at http://www.megaphonemusic.net/, where you can purchase a copy of Exit Silent Mode. You can download the album through iTunes.

Review: Lisa Smith's Powerhaus - Maze Of Souls

Lisa Smith’s Powerhaus – Maze Of Souls
2008, Powerhaus

Lisa Smith is known to Canadian rock fans as Daneka, lead singer of goth rockers Exovedate. Chuck Page is known by guitar rock fans across Canada as one of the meanest axe players to strap on a six string. Put these two dynamic personalities together on stage and you have the type of pairing not seen since David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen decided they couldn’t share a sandbox. Smith’s powerful voice is capable of the vocal histrionics of Geoff Tate or Ronnie James Dio, the gruff extremity of Rob Halford, or the operatic metal of David Coverdale. Chuck Page is a blues/rock man, earning comparisons to Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. Put the two together and you have Lisa Smith’s Powerhaus, perhaps one of the best things to happen to the Toronto Rock N Roll scene in some time. Their debut album, Maze Of Souls, dropped in 2008 and is still making waves. Let’s check it out!

Maze Of Souls is a confounding album. Lisa Smith has an amazing rock voice; able to alter her sound to fit the song/style she’s singing within a limited breadth of styles. She’s somewhere between Lee Aaron and old school Pat Benetar stylistically. Her deep amber alto is lined with a bit of barbed wire when she wants it; there aren’t too many female rock vocalists like her nowadays. The band can rock when they’re up to it, and it seems like the potential is here for a an amazing ride on Maze Of Souls. What we find is a bit more typical of a 1980’s hair metal band, however. Maybe four songs of the eleven presented on Maze Of Souls truly inspire the listener, but there is a tendency toward blandness that belies the spark that the individual pieces can create. Maze Of Souls opens on The Verge, a straight forward classic hard rock tune. This is the listener’s introduction to Smith’s voice but is otherwise fairly typical of the genre. Red Door gets more into the hair metal sound, with Smith sounding a bit like Stephen Pearcy at times here. The Needle is the obligatory acoustic tune. This song gets stuck in a melodic and lyric rut pretty quickly, making up in repetition what it lacks in ideas.

Crazy For You turns things around in a big way. Huge hooks and a lively rock sound show off what the band is capable of, and Smith is right there driving the band along on what is by far the best song on the CD. Rat infuses a touch of blues into a straight up hard rock tune; the guitar work here is impressive and Smith’s vocal presence do a lot for an average song. Innocence Lost is perhaps the second best tune here, living on killer hooks and driving rock sound that will stick with you. The rest of the album is somewhat bland or even awkward (No More War) at times.

Lisa Smith has a voice that will knock you over the head and drag you back home. Within her range she’s a superstar, and Smith is smart enough to stay in her comfort zone on Maze Of Souls. The band is excellent, particularly guitarist Chuck Page, who has a bit of wizardry in his fingers. From the songwriting perspective Lisa Smith’s Powerhaus is generally pretty average or typical of their genre, although they do manage to find two or three breakout tunes here. A top notch producer could do big things with Lisa Smith’s Powerhaus; the potential is here.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Lisa Smith’s Powerhaus at www.myspace.com/lisasmithspowerhaus or http://www.chuckpagemusic.com/. You can purchase a copy of Maze Of Souls at www.cdbaby.com/cd/lspowerhaus, or you can download the album through iTunes.