A few years back when I heard that Nikki Sixx and Tracii Guns were putting a new band together, I thought, ‘Uh oh . . . someone’s trying to relive some past glories.’ How often do we see members of popular bands go off in a different direction and wind up floundering? So, I let out a heavy sigh and listened to the first single. Folks, let me tell ya’, I’ll be the first to admit when I’m a jack ass and apologize for my transgressions. Nikki . . . Tracii . . . I am sorry for prejudging your work before I gave it a fair listen. Brides of Destruction have released an album so much more aggressive and in your face than the aforementioned musicians prior outfits. Here Come the Brides doesn’t so much leave the Hollywood glam scene as much as it injects it with a healthy dose of attitude and fuck all y’all-edness. This album is a middle finger vigorously waved in the air and a rollicking good time!
The disc opens with one of the most urgent songs that I had heard in quite some time in “Shut the Fuck Up!” It’s a high tempo number that borrows a bit from bands like The Exploited and Sex Pistols, but what better way to get the point across, huh? “I Don’t Care” follows the leader with another punked out offering that highlights Tracii’s guitar work, particularly the riff through the verses, and London Legrand’s manic vocal stylings. Up tempo and bouncy, the song is seeping with attitude and sleaze. The entire band shows it’s chops on this tune, staying tight in the breaks and never leaving the flow. “Two Times Dead” opens with a great harmonic filled riff and simply kicks ass. Tracii offers up another sterling solo as well. “Natural Born Killers” kind of takes the listener aback in that the song starts off very poppy, but the chorus changes everything and that snotty Brides attitude reappears. Watch for the line, “I’ve got strychnine on my tongue and I’m felling F-I-N-E, Fine.” Classic song and you’ll be singing along with the chorus before you know what you’re doing. “Life” is another poppy-punk tune that would fit right along with a band like Jimmy Eat World, and again, I dare you to not sing along. Can’t be done, friends. “Only Get So Far” closes Here Come the Brides and is the lone track that harkens back to the bygone era of ‘80’s hair metal. It’s the closest thing to a power ballad, though I wouldn’t even categorize it as that. Think of it more as a mellowed out punk tune. Sentimental, but not sappy.
All in all, Here Come the Brides is a great album and a good time. It captures the essence of the four musicians and the environment that they call home. It’s a tough guy album that takes no prisoners, and really never let’s up until the last track. But, that last track is there so that we can all kind of catch our breath and collect our wits just before we throw it on for another spin. The songs are catchy, but never come close to wussing out. They’ve got stones, but not in a meathead fashion. Beneath all of the punk vibes, there’s still a ton a musicality that can only be found from life long rockers and metalheads. Brides of Destruction come across more as a punk outfit than their Hollywood surroundings would traditionally have them seem. And to quote my good buddy, J.D., this is the sleaziest rock album since Appetite For Destruction. Is there really a better selling point than that? - Pope JTE
Buy here: Here Come the Brides
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