Hard Reviews 5
by Martin Popoff

Lemmy, Slim Jim & Danny B - Lemmy, Slim Jim & Danny B
(Cleopatra)

It's no secret Lemmy's a fan of old blues and country stuff, so here he teams up with Stray Cat Slim Jim Phantom and a guy named Danny B. Harvey (don't know who he is: no bio) to tackle just that: old classics and not-so-classics that tumble into the camps of old country, bluegrass, rockabilly, and '50s rock, sorta like that cool old X covers album as The Kittens. Lemmy really pooches opener Big River but then recovers and does an adequate job of the rest of the album, really singing these songs, quite unexpectedly human in its effect. The instrumental track is pretty straight and soft, rough but not noisy, basically barely plugged. Gonna rate 'er low, not because I'm all up in arms about Overkill man doing this (damn, I've suggested it to him myself in two separate interviews, or I guess more accurately, the idea of writing and recording his own country album, which could be a real possibility). No, I'm rating 'er low because it all sounds very one-take, unimaginative, and nowhere particularly well-played. I applaud the attempt however, but they've treated it way too casually.
Rating 5

Enertia - Flashpoint
(Animated Insanity)

Now three records in with an unchanged line-up to boot, New York's Enertia have crafted their best batch yet, Flashpoint being an esoteric collection of prog metallers which lean way into the carnal bite of Testament through Flotsam & Jetsam to a battered Nevermore core. A complaint I've always had with this band remains: their cold, mechanistic recording values, again something used deliberately by Nevermore, being of questionable deliberation here. But it works for such detailed riffs when they are placed on these slow, groovy, double bass barrages, all the while vocalist Scott Featherstone superstar wailing up top like Non Fiction's Alan Tecchio. Classy, classic traditional metal that sticks to the grim power end of power metal. But like I say, could use more production, specifically a few more layers. See www.animated-insanity.com/enertia.html or enertia@animated-insanity.com for more info.
Rating 7.5