ROSE TATTOO
25 to Life
SPV/Steamhammer

For those unfamiliar with Rose Tattoo, this Australian blues-metal band released their debut back in the late '70s, and followed up with three studio releases during the '80s prior to disbanding. Soon after, Rose Tattoo bald frontman Angry Anderson had a short-lived movie career (his most notable role was in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome) and then he attempted a pathetic career in techno music. Thankfully, the band recently reformed and performed at last year's Wacken festival in Germany. The festival performance was recorded and released as a double-CD on the SPV label. Rose Tattoo were true originators! The band members sported tattoos all over their body, long before it was trendy. Fact is, it was the glam look of Hanoi Rocks, combined with the tattooed street-look and raunchy blues of Rose Tattoo that later influenced a slew of Hollywood rockers in the mid-eighties, most notably Guns & Roses and LA Guns. Like their Aussie ancestors, AC/DC and the Angels, Rose Tattoo played simplistic blues-metal riffs atop savage, raspy vocals. And believe me, when it comes to vocal rasp, few can compete with bald-munchkin Angry Anderson!

All the Rose Tattoo classics are included in this 2-CD set..."Tramp," "Butcher And Fast Eddie," "Rock'N'Roll Outlaw," "Astra Walley," "Scarred For Life," "Remedy," and "Nice Boys (Don't Play Rock'N'Roll)." This recording features an incredible vocal performance by Angry (who sounds incredible live) and some wicked slide guitar work from Pete Wells. The sound quality isn't the greatest, and the band seems to lose their steam at times, but all in all, it's a great package and damn good to see the band alive and kickin' ass once again!

NONPOINT
Statement
MCA Records

Nonpoint hails from Miami and are the newest contenders in the ever-growing American metal market. Surprisingly, the band are fairly decent musicians, and vocalist Elias Soriano actually "sings", with very little rapping and no growling - he comes across with both power and melody. Definitely a rarity in today's metal music. The music blends cool, sometimes funky, bass-heavy grooves with unique vocal harmonies, akin to Jimmie's Chicken Shack, but with rawer, punk-metal power, which should please fans of Tool and RATM. There aren't a whole lotta stand out tracks here, the music pretty much blends together. "Back Up" is one of the better tracks, an in-your-face tune where vocalist Soriano shines, sounding like a cross between a modern-day Dee Snider and Maynard Keenan. Cool, crushing, hypnotic guitar riffs throughout the CD and a fine production job from Jason Bieler (who, I believe, was the old guitarist for Saigon Kick and Talisman.) There's even the metal-in-espanol track, "Orgullo," thrown in for good measure. Not a bad effort at all for a major label debut. Definitely a step above the majority of new-breed metal outfits and worth checking out.

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