Theater of Pain-Motley Crue

So today I'm covering an album suggested to me by my Aunt. She is the husband of the heavy metal uncle. So this is one of two reviews from her and so let's get started. This is Theater of Pain of Motley Crue. It starts out with a really cool track called City Boy Blues. This song really spoke to me as it sounds a lot like what I play, really loud and distorted blues. The vocals are pretty classic heavy metal style and the guitar is good. This is a solid album featuring some classic Motley Crue and we get to see the Crue exactly how they want to be seen, loud gritty and angry. Also I would like to say that the cover art is really nifty. I like good cover art and this album has particularly excellent cover art, it adds a good feel to the album.

So after the lead track City Boy Blues which I really liked we get to the Crue classic Smoking in the Boys Room, which I find pretty amazing musically and cool lyrically. The lyrics epitomize high school heavy metal on this track. Fighting against the regulations and doing what you want to do even if it is against the rules. I thought that really just made the album feel spectacular. It has that same quality of some Maiden where you want to sing a long to the amazing choruses. There are some really good songs on this album like Louder than Hell, another Crue classic but for me Smoking in the Boys Room makes the album

The music is overall pretty good. The vocals are traditional heavy metal kind of scratchy and messed up. The guitar is mostly power chords with some good solos and nice power chord oriented riffs. One of the best riffs is in the track Louder than Hell. The bass does not come through as much as it could but it does provide a good back-up to the album and is a key part of the rhythm section. The drums are really loud and powerful and pretty impressive. I like a lot of this album it features a lot of good and original sounds while keeping a really nice heavy metal feel. This album succeeds in making you want to sing a long and for me that is one of the key tenets to any goood album, wanting to sing/scream along.

Overall this is an awesome album. It shows some good talent and nice riffs and it is generally just fun to listen too. And if it is not fun to listen to then I would not like it. But this album rocks it is a blast to listen to. While it is not melt your ears loud it is still heavy metal and really good and raunchy. A lot of metal fans would like this album as it has a lot of skill. It does lack something though, and I'm not sure what but I think its the lack of spectacular solos and slightly screwy vocals so some points get knocked off. Still worth a listen.

OVERALL 9/10

Too Fast For Love-Motley Crue

Right so today I'm covering the first Motley Crue album Too Fast for Love, again thank-you to the Uncle for the album suggestion. This is the first glam metal album I've ever really done. It is really hard and amazing for early metal. In my opinion it is harder than the Killers album I recently reviewed. This album is considered one of the first 'true' glam albums actually at #12 on Rolling Stone Magazines list of best Glam Albums. I was immediately amazed at how hard it was. You could say it was pretty much an explosion. It is all very hard and raunchy. Despite its rep as a glam album it does have some more punk and 'real' heavy metal sounds than other glam albums. At this point I think they were still realizing they were more of a metal band than a glam band. Which I find rather ironic that this heavy metal band was originally a glam band, I don't know it just strikes me as a little odd and just kind of funny.

The music is very loud and impressive. While not so much technically skilled (there are some good solos though), the music is mostly comprised of power chords, it comes out in a really cool way. The music is not about being technically skilled though, its about being loud and amazing, and thats what it does. There are some growling power chords which pretty much dominate the music. Then there are some... unique... instruments. In particular a cowbell is featured in the track Public Enemy. In fact a cowbell works spectacularly with the music it was a brilliant decision to add that in I think. The solos are all pretty nice and show some skill but they are nothing to be particularly amazed at. The solos are good but Mick Mars (the guitarist) is not going to be worshipped by anyone. He will be very much respected and seen as a guitarist who made some great music but he is by no means a 'guitar god', just very good.

The lyrics are often raunchy and rude, and generally pretty much punk and glam. Thats really the only way to describe these lyrics, simply punk and glam. So in other words there are some suggestive lyrics, protesting lyrics, angry lyrics, and others simply rock and roll. They combine to form a very heavy album that really shows how the latest metal sounded when this was released. This was the most current and up to date metal released. It shows a lot of strength and potential for an up and coming band. However The Crue while they reached international album will never be considered gods among men as Zeppelin or Sabbath is often considered. Instead they are just a step below that, at the 'very good' level.

Overall this album rocks but some bits can get repetitive and slightly meh after a while. The continued power chords eventually get a bit stale and start to go towards the failish side. It just does not end and is kind of a repetition on a theme. Fortunately the album has a very good theme so it stays strong but grows a bit stale. There are some really nice solos and power chord rythyms and shows a lot of potential but unfortunaterly the Crue stayed at basically this level their whole career. Still this is worth a listen.

OVERALL 8/10

Too Fast for Love