Released By : Universal Music
Genre : Modern Rock, Sleaze Rock, Melodic Rock
Links : http://www.hindermusic.com/
Tracklist:
1. 2 Sides Of Me
2. All American Nightmare
3. What Ya Gonna Do
4. Hey Ho
5. The Life
6. Waking Up The Devil
7. Red Tail Lights
8. Striptease
9. Everybody’s Wrong
10. Put That Record On
It seems that HINDER just can’t catch a decent break. Sure they have sold a bajillion records and have a whole have of fans, but since their first connection with the mainstream critics have enjoyed ripping them apart, and the vast amount of snobby music elitists that have looked down on them in quite ridiculous. I will admit that I wasn’t a fan of the first album, which was virtually a combination of every modern rock and post-grunge stereotype rolled into one. But when the follow up arrived a couple of years ago I have to admit that it totally smacked me in the face. Gone was the predictability of the debut, and in its place a unique mix of radio friendly modern rock and eighties melodic rock that really, really worked well. For some reason this only seemed to anger the arrogant people even more, and instead of just admitting that it was a good album everybody just called them a bunch of copycats and such.
The simple fact is that their third album ALL AMERICAN NIGHTMARE is destined to share the same fate and I totally expect it to get destroyed in the wider music journalism world. But you know what, screw that!! I quite enjoyed the new album, even though it isn’t much different from the previous one it still shows a band that wants to me modern but is still willing to pay tribute to those gone before. The balladry of bands like 3 DOORS DOWN can be heard throughout the songs, but when combined with the mentality of say early day BON JOVI or definitely DEF LEPPARD the two sounds really manage to gel well and I just don’t understand why more people aren’t willing to give this band a proper go.
Album Opener 2 SIDES OF ME starts out so much like a DEF LEPPARD tune that you would swear that it was them. Second track and lead-off single ALL AMERICAN NIGHTMARE is a great halfway point between modern rock and sunset strip sleaze. WHAT YA GONNA DO is the first real highlight and is a mid-paced southern fried tune that isn’t too far removed from the sort of material you hear from KID ROCK these days. HEY HO is a typical summer party rock tune that calls up influence from UNCLE KRACKER and even some EVERLAST. THE LIFE is a bit of an unsurprising modern radio rock ballad, but is still one of the best examples of this type of song in quite a while. WAKIN’ UP THE DEVIL sees the band closer to the 90’s grunge sound than ever before and is like a heavier STONE TEMPLE PILOTS tune. RED TAIL LIGHTS was one of the two spuds on this album and really one I could do without. STRIPTEASE brings the album back strong and is a great sleazy hard rock tune that should appeal to both the modern and classic rock markets. EVERYBODY’S WRONG is the other tune that didn’t work for me, it sort of sounds like a modern day BON JOVI ballad minus the soul. A fun little ditty closes the album with PUT THAT RECORD ON which shows the band paying tribute to some great songs of the past in a similar vein to KID ROCK’S ALL SUMMER LONG of a couple of years ago but namedrops some of the greats like AC/DC and GUNS N ROSES to name but two.
For those that are going to disparage this album before they even hear it, hopefully I have said enough for you to at least check it out with an open mind. Sure, it’s not rocket science, and there is slim to none as far as artistic credibility goes, but the fact it that this is a fun and well written album that is one of the better examples of how modern radio rock can still appeal to a wider market when done right.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 8/10