Looking at this CD I first notice the words "Hard music for hard times" in the little spine section, and start to get a bit worried. After all most heavy bands don't use the word "hard" so I braced myself for something along the lines of older Petra or Rez. Turns out I should have been thinking along the lines of Holy Soldier or Guardian.
These guys are definitely a throw back to the 80's, and I can't get L.A. Guns out of my head as I listen to them. I don't guess it's 100% fair to compare them to L.A. Guns, but there are some real similarities...Krush is just a lot better. They play punchy rock-n-roll groove all the way.
The guitars are handled by Phil Castillo, and Lou Tamaqui, who play well together, giving us a few leads here and there and some cool solo action as well. J.D. Weatherford does something most bass players in bands like these don't do...writes interesting bass lines. Nothing super technical but he's more than just a boring time keeper. The drums are adequate, but again I think this particular style of music limits the musician more than the musician himself. Vocals are a little bit of a high pitched, semi-clean singing that suits this band well, Dave Meriweller pulled this off great.
Track 3 should be mentioned, from the information I got from the band this one is getting some recognition on the radio, and understandably so. This one even tends to remind a bit of Slash's (G 'N R...yes I know Tracii Guns used to be in G 'N R) style of playing as in the ending pieces of this song remind me greatly of the ending guitar pieces of "Sweet Child O' Mine."
One stand out track in my mind is the song "Lies" which gets really aggressive in the chorus as they repeat "Lies...Lies...I don't need your..." this one gets heavy and MEAN sounding.
Their message is strong as is evident by the aforementioned track 3 "Marylin"
Marylin thought she had the time
Fortune and fame took her place
Where did she go up or below
Where did she go, I don't know
This song blatantly tells of the need each of us has for Jesus Christ in our lives, and they go on to talk about "Mr. Bonham" and Bon Scott (Led Zeppelin, and AC/DC members respectively) as examples of others in the spotlight who left us.
So...maybe the "Hard Music for Hard Times" does tend to fit this band, but it's still a stinking good album for those of you out there who did/are/will jam to Guardian or Holy Soldier style music this is one for the collection.
7/10
Other coverage for this album
Art for the Ears 2000Reviewed by Marco PovervestThis American band is a hard rocking five-piece that exists since 1996. After the release of an EP this is their second effort. While listening to Welcome To Paradise I realize I should listen more to classic hard rock albums because I hear all kinds of influences but I can't remember all the names of the sources. Well, that makes clear that this nine-song album is of interest for fans of those…HM Magazine #78Reviewed by Doug Van PeltThese guys are cranking out melodic metal with a commercial bite. Remember bands like Ratt and Crossforce? These guys fit the bill. Speaking of Crossforce, Phil Castillo was their lead guitarist. He can skillfully play lead guitar, which matches the fine vocals of Dave Meriwether. Not many bands will venture in this territory anymore, and if they do, they better do it right. These guys sound like…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Justin JonesI have a feeling that anyone who still sports long hair, thinks John Schlitt is a hero, and can name all the 80's rock bands that ever smashed a guitar will like this album. Those of us that don't fit that category will be left twiddling our thumbs. This album is just too cheesy for my metal tastes, and left me wanting less of it, and more of something else. Imagine Petra meets Winger. That's…Dead Zine 1999Reviewed by dEaDsMilEI will just start out this review by saying that groove-core is not my style of music. It never has been, but I haven't made up my mind to hate it or anything. In fact, this is in my opinion the best pure groove metal album I have ever heard, but again, I've never really been into groove so I have not heard much. This is a non-biased review, but my musical preferences may reflect on the rating…Similar sounding releases
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