Prototype

An attempt at gritty rock (not punk, don't mix them up) ends up feeling more like underproduced Aerosmith minus those dinosaurs' almost unrecognizable grooves. This is as straight-on -- and as white -- as it gets. Not terribly surprising coming from a band that moved from NYC to L.A., a career-turn that's a tad questionable (at least from a credibility standpoint -- don't these guys know that everything interesting is happening on the other side of the country these days?).

Produced by Ben Moore (Finch, Rocket From the Crypt), the overall sound is static-clipped, direct and choppy. Songs like the pop-pop take-down "Pull Out the Guts" and the title track are so Def Leppard they could have been lifted from my worn copy of Hysteria. The problem, of course, is that I haven't had an urge to listen to Hysteria for 15 years. As a whole, the CD sounds exactly like something you've heard before, but can't quite put a finger on. In the end, lack of interesting hooks (the bread and butter of good Def Leppard) makes it something of a blur.

back to   Posted Sept. 23, 2003. Copyright © 2003 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.