AHAB REX *REVIEW*
ROLLIN' WITH THE AHAB REX QUINTENT
1. Dummy
2. Undertow No. 5
3. Vertigo
4. The Surgeon's Photo
5. Plastic People
6. Cheer Up
7. The National Anthem
8. To Whom It May Concern
9. Dope Sick
10. Cold
What do you get when you mix alcohol with muscle relaxers...well I guess I'll know in within the next few minutes!
What do you get when you mix the best parts of MINISTRY, TOM WAITS, LOU REED, BOSS HOG & THE BLUES EXPLOSION...you get AHAB REX!
I get a lot of albums to review in the mail and sometimes I'm deeply satisfied and pleasently surprised, sometimes not so satisfied or surprised.. this time something much more than that.
AHAB REX is a breath of fresh air, something that seems to fit that empty square peg hole in my chest, something that works so well.
A Black And White Film splattered with all the right spices, anger, darkness, depression, anxiety, adrenaline it's all there!
We start this journey with the track DUMMY
maybe not the most upbeat track on this record to start this off with but one of the most, what should I say, ORIGINAL tracks on the record.. a good introduction to the unique voice for an industrial rock style record, this song seems to change like the weather but always coming back to one center.. with sweet female vox and that SKINNY PUPPY meets TOM WAITS vocal style that will definitely come back later on...
The second track UNDERTOW no. 5 breaks out the AL JOURGENSEN style vocals over the distortion heavy BOSS HOG/FOLK EXPLOSION style bass guitar.. mixed with STONE TEMPLE PILOTS (circa big bang baby) style groove..
this track proves that brooding rock can still be groovy as shit and make you want to jump up and shake your ass!
VERTIGO the third track brings us more female vox, and even if it's not the girl on the back of the CD cover I still imagine that BETTY PAGE/TOBE TORRES look-alike rocking the mic, Still a very MINISTRY drenched vocal style from AHAB, maybe not as groovy as the last track but still a rocker..
track 4
THE SURGEON'S PHOTO
with a groove from hell, man this guy must hang out at some of the coolest fucking strip joints ever, and imagine ROB ZOMBIE meets TOM WAITS style vox. this album never fails to impress even as you delve deeper into the tracks.
with the EVIL DEAD reminiscent chorus "JOIN US" you gotta love this guy, I'd follow him to some dark little corner of the world.
PLASTIC PEOPLE is of course a cover of "L7's" THE BOMB!
Being a huge L7 fan since the cradle I'm always impressed when people break out covers from their amazing catalogue!
This was always one of the best L7 tracks.. and I'm glad to see he did it in an original yet faithful style..and it wasn't a dead pan rehash like PRODIGY's PEOPLE LIKE YOU (light my fire) cover!
Finally a good ol' straight forward BAR FIGHT DRUNK SONG
with track 6 we break out the IGGY POP & THE STOOGES style CHEER UP!
BOSS HOG on crack!
I love this track!!
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM!
Am I supposed to take this song as literal as I have
KILL Everyone!!! I LOVE THIS!!!
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
track 8 brings back that ROB ZOMBIE (white zombie era of course, grease paint and monkey brains)/ TOM WAITS vox!
but with a JAYNE COUNTY style guitar groove going on.. very good track!, but one of my faves is next in the roster!
DOPE SICK!
a straight faced TOM WAITS rip off!
no wait I don't want to say that it's very cool and I'm not knocking it.. but it's very TOM WAITS definitely a good thing not many people can pull this off this well!
Complete with stand up bass, and brass section this track really brings out the smokey bar room feel!
And those vox, could only have been done better by TOM himself!
and last on the list we have THE CURE cover titled COLD!
definitely done in AHAB REX's own style.. with a little SKINNY PUPPY in the chorus.. would have never guessed this was a CURE song..once again I'm glad he didn't just do a typical run through of the song.. it's his now.. and no one can take it away!
now that I've told you a little about each track let me tell you this....
THIS IS VERY DIFFERENT AND VERY INTERESTING!
Each song is something new!
I could listen to this record a thousand times and not get tired of it.. it's better than any MIX CD you'd make of your fave shit.. hell it's all on here what else could I ask for!
*reviewed by the dead puppy*
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