Artist: Acey Slade & The Dark Party Title: “Acey Slade & The Dark Party” Label: PID Release Date: 2/9/2010 Genre: Glam Rock/Punk Rock Rating: 4/5
“Acey Slade and The Dark Party” is the eponymously titled latest release by the one and only Acey Slade (known from the likes of Murderdolls, Dope, Trashlight Vision, Wednesday 13 and probably more than I know about) and with it the musician continues to surprise his fans with the level of chameleon that he can be with his artistic expression. It’s important to know right off the bat if you are expecting a Murderdolls or Trashlight vibe that you will be disappointed but if you are fans of seeing how Slade and his band mates are hoping to serve your auditory palate then it will be an interesting exploration. The release begins with a quasi “Twilight Zone” kind of spoken intro that leads you into the sensational “Here Today” track. This tune speaks volumes and plays along the lines of how instant our society has become. You are truly as it sings “here today, gone today” thanks to our instant gratification and forgetting what we just absorbed on our Facebook and Twitter feeds. Up next is “Sugarcum” and it’s a very danceable tune with a vibrant chorus and then a very techno-laden drive is to be found in “Nothing’s Gonna Change”. There is still a deep heavy groove that would make this work in a harder Rock setting but it’s clear that Slade and the guys were bringing a whole new aesthetic to their musical mix. There is a great interplay between Slade and guitarist Andee for sure. There is an almost Bowie-esque brooding during parts of “She Brings Down The Moon” and while this one is more Gothic Hard Rock you can sense that there is a space to be slinky on the dark dance floor if you wanted to. Continue reading “Acey Slade & The Dark Party” by Acey Slade & The Dark Party→
Artist: Various Artists Title: “Punks Not Dead” Label: MVD Visual Release Date: 8/17/2009 Genre: Punk Rock Documentary Rating: 3.75/5
“Punks Not Dead” is an interesting documentary film that presents to the viewer what I felt was a great inside and historical look into the Punk Rock and Hardcore movement when it first started to pick up steam back in the mid 70’s. It succeeds in its quest to inform the home audience of today by blending interview footage from notable acts such as The Damned, The Ramones, Circle Jerks, The Subhumans along with many, many more and explains to you in their own words just how reviled and accepted the Punk Rock genre was in its infancy. The film wisely starts at the apparent beginnings of the whole movement and explains how the whole DIY principle worked out. If you don’t know what DIY is, you should know that it stands for “Do It Yourself” and how it is still a larger practice today when it comes to the underground scene of any music genre in addition to what now calls itself today’s Punk. When the term was new it referred to how the bands booked shows by using phony credit card numbers and shared public phones that they were able to use for free and how most bands sent out their music to the fans from their houses and often sought a place to crash from these same fans when they would be in their town. One of the key quotes gives kudos to how all of this networking, touring and building of a music scene was all being done without the support or even interest from major record companies. The experts in the Punk music realm discuss how like many things with an original small fan response or underground only following can get big and eventually reach the mainstream. Of course this happening sometimes generates the feeling in its original fans that it had sold out from the aesthetic that it once held and was no longer relevant. We see this all the time with the fans who stake claim on bands “first” and no longer liking them when the rest of the world jumps on board. Some bands that are cited as helping to push Punk into the mainstream are The Offspring, Green Day, Rancid and Pennywise. They even mention Nirvana and while the Grunge Rock band definitely sold millions of albums, I didn’t see them as a Punk act and wondered how they came to feel they applied to this situation. Quotes from founders of many of the original Punk Rock record companies are spoken to and they explain how almost every dollar earned was put right back into getting the next record out for the band that had earned the money or another worthy act. That’s a lot different from a label earning money on the Joe Blow New band and putting the money into Aerosmith that’s for sure. Continue reading “Punks Not Dead” [DVD] by Various Artists→
Artist: The Queers Title: “CBGB OMFUG Masters: Live 2/3/03, The Bowery Collection” Label: MVD Audio Release Date: 5/13/2008 Genre: Punk Rock Rating: 3.5/5
Since 1982, the Punk Rock band known as The Queers have been entertaining the dedicated fans of their brand of Surf Punk meets Pop Punk and this live CD appropriately titled “Live at C.B.G.B.’s” captures them in action on the stage at the now extinct but still legendary Punk Rock club. The recording presents the bands full set according to its liner notes and since it runs some thirty one numbers I am quick to believe this to be true as Joe Queer and company deliver quick paced riffs and drumming that makes the couch potato listener want to jump out of their seats and dance. If you like The Queers sound then you will love this but if you don’t “get them”, then this is not recommended because much of the bands repertoire follows a similar vibe and songs tend to run right into the next one with often only a quick “1-2-3-4” ala The Ramones offering you any separation or distinction. I was never more than the casual fan myself, but I did enjoy the chance to have so many of their tunes on one CD and done live as this becomes the perfect release to load onto ones music player and take on the road with you. The recording captured the band during their show on February 3rd, 2003 and while this is a couple of different lineups into the bands career, the main man is still present and holding the banner of their musical style proud. Some of the highlights on the quality recording come via the bands cover of the Ramones classic “Rockaway Beach” which is their opener and “Surf Goddess”, and their crowd pleaser “Ursula Finally Has Tits”, which I understand is an actual homage to a fan that followed them for a long time and well, you can figure out the rest behind that one. From beginning to end the gig sounded like a lot of fun and one that is probably fondly remembered by anyone who was in attendance. Continue reading “CBGB OMFUG Masters: Live 2/3/03, The Bowery Collection” by The Queers→
Artist: The Damned Title: “So Who’s Paranoid” Label: 02. Records Release Date: 12/9/2008 Genre: Punk Rock Rating: 2.5/5
The Damned are back with their tenth studio album, the previous being 2001’s GRAVE DISORDER, and to a greater degree than that record they’ve turned in yet another mixed bag.
As anyone who knows me well can tell you, I love the Damned, rating them at number three on my list of all-time favorite bands (coming in behind the Cramps, with Devo in the number one slot), and the reason they keep their place at number three is due to their incredibly inconsistent output. I’m talking in terms of musical flavor, not their sporadic album release rate, and while I salute them for their willingness to experiment and not necessarily pigeonhole themselves within the confines of their status as elder statesmen or original British punk — for those who don’t know, the Damned claim a place in punk rock history for being the first British band of the movement to release a single and an album, waaaaaay back in the stone age of 1976 — but yet again we’re handed a sampler of well-crafted musicianship that struggles to find its own unique voice or flavor that says “This is the Damned.” Continue reading “So, Who’s Paranoid” by The Damned→
Artist: Semi Precious Weapons Title: “We Love You” Label: Razor & Tie Release Date: 9/30/2008 Genre: Sleaze Rock Rating: 3.5/5
If you’re looking for the new rising star of Sleaze Glam Rock then don’t look over to the West Coast but instead focus your attention on Brooklyn, NY’s own Semi Precious Weapons, a band that manages to take the teachings of the New York Dolls, Hanoi Rocks and other influencers of note and create their own interesting identity. Led by singer Justin Tranter who employs some of the similar cross-dressing techniques of Dee Snider and David Johansen, the band offers up a rocking display of vivid sexual innuendo and a somewhat danceable groove depending on the track. There is a lot of bold ACDC type swagger going on in terms of the vibe but the real emphasis is on their pushing the buttons with their lyrical content. The band’s debut on Razor & Tie is entitled “We Love You” and it’s a release that finds the band making no bones about their overt sexual imagery and this can be felt as soon as the CD begins spinning. Continue reading “We Love You” by Semi Precious Weapons→
![“Punks Not Dead” [DVD] by Various Artists](https://www.piercingmetal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/DVD-Various-Punks-Not-Dead-e1442341732919.jpg)
