Honest. Raw. Not in terms of production, but in terms of emotion. Last Stop China Town plays raw, honest rock and roll. Some may call it alt metal, but really, those are just words, terms to try and sound cool or hip. Last Stop Chinatown doesn't care about that, they don't want to be hip, they just want to rock.
New Disease is a free (you heard me. . . Free!) 11 track CD included with the October issue of Classic Rock magazine, an excellent UK publication of, well, classic rock. And Last Stop China Town fits right in. With an armfull of Metallica cd's, a few Judas Priest riffs and a hint towards Creed-era metal, Last Stop Chinatown comes roaring at you with classic, honest rock.
Now, admittedly, the Metallic influence weighs a bit heavy. At times, this cd sounds like it could have been the natural successor to Metallica's Black Album. "Mind Games" and "Intruder" come at you with massive Metalica riffs and a slightly uncomfortable Hetfieldesque lead vocal that can't help but leave you wondering if you haven't heard this before. But to dismiss these guys as Metallica wantabe's would be doing them a huge disservice. These guys know how to play.
Songs like "Opinions Collide" come at you completely fresh. Traces of Opeth (dare I say progressive metal) lurk just underneath the surface of a crunching riff. Interesting time changes, occasionally jazzy rhythms and the courage to allow slow moments of acoustic guitar to run through their tracks let you know that this isn't your mother's Metallica. Another key point to separate LSTC from their Metallica mentors are the powerfully emotive dual vocal attack of Alon and Ollie. At times, their vocal interplay can literally propel the song forward, dancing over the riffs. I must admit, I love bands with two vocalists who can harmonize each other, yet augment each other; one voice hard and raw, the other slightly cleaner, dare I say, smoother. It is at moments like this that LSCT are at their best. Other songs like "Erase" and "New Disease" just simply rock.
Overall, New Disease is an excellent introduction to a band poised to make some noise in the future. Once they step out from under the Metallica shadow that looms over their heads, there's no limit to where they can go. Thrash, prog, alt-metal. Who knows. With guys this talented, the sky's the limit. I for one will be there, watching to see where they go next. -Racer X.
Check them out at www.myspace.com/laststopchinatown or www.laststopchinatown.uk.co
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