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Going by their H.R. Giger-lite cover art and the vaguely-threatening title Cold Blooded Demon, it’s obvious that Revmatic want to be taken seriously as a “real” metal band. And while the group does manage to keep things at a constant fast and loud pace on their third album, they forgot to make it good. Hyper-fast guitars chug non-stop on Cold Blooded Demon, speeding their way through at near-Motorhead intensity on the opening “Head My Way” and rarely slowing down until the slightly more subdued closing number “So Far Away.” And while the crunching riffs start out great, they quickly get old as Revmatic reveals itself to be a one-trick pony, with their one trick being slightly heavier than usual, Top 40-friendly post-grunge bullshit. They may know how to plug an amp in and crank it to 11, but they sure as hell can’t do anything past that. The recurring theme of Cold Blooded Demon is “I hate that bitch because I love her so much” with titles like “She’s a Drug,” “Lie to Love” and “Such a Disease” singing the praise of dysfunctional relationships. Even if you somehow still like crap like this, you can do better. Doesn’t Puddle Of Mudd have a new CD out? (Self-released) |
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Stepping into the gaping void left when Vixen, Lita Ford, and Pat Benatar stopped releasing new music, Los Angeles’ own Cockpit (heh, heh, heh) brings amped-up all-female rock back to whoever’s still asking for it in 2008. The size of that audience – at least outside Oklahoma, where Cockpit (snigger) performed to festival crowds last month at the second annual Rocklahoma gathering – may not be what it was 20 years ago, but the band doesn’t seem to mind; Mission to Rock is every bit as old school as its title, featuring five songs about, well, rocking. The band may use less makeup than Poison, but it’s taken all the important cues from the hair-metal warriors of yore, right down to the dumb stage names (Terrii Kiing and Alicia Blü, come on down!), and the songs on this EP provide all the loud, riff-heavy entertainment any fan of the genre could ask for. The advance promo doesn’t list any production credits, but whoever was behind the boards for Mission to Rock deserves credit for presenting the band in the most flattering light possible – the drums are dry and punchy, the vocals are high in the mix, and, most importantly, the guitars are bright and wiry. It’s easy to point and laugh at music this deliberately anachronistic, but Cockpit (they said “cock”) is a lot more fun than most other new rock bands. Best of luck, ladies. (Pedal to the Metal 2008) |
