‘The future of rock ‘n’ roll’? In fairness, this is more like ‘Some Good Past Bits Of Rock’, by this Italian five piece. They take their name from an AC/DC track, Rideon, and the similarities continue from there.
Apparently the CD is inspired by Nuclear experiments made in Nevada in 1953, but the only connection I can find is a silly, but mercifully short, sound of sirens and a countdown from ten to start proceedings. This leads into ‘Black Rain’, which isn’t about Hiroshima, but rather being fed up with work. It has an energetic feel, with lively drumming, some decent rumbling bass and a nice clear guitar sound and some tempo changes. It reminded me of ‘Riff Raff’ by AC/DC in places. ‘I Want A lady’ has a catchy riff, and like all the tracks, is short and sweet, with an accomplished guitar solo and gritty vocals. Track 3 is a little different. ‘Listen To My Radio’ has a nice slow bluesy solo, then more AC/DC style riffing, solid backing from the drums and bass. I enjoyed the guitar breaks on this track. They were frequent and well played. It was my favourite track.
‘C’mon’ is a good old fashioned 70/80s heavy rock track. Again it’s a lively gritty, number. ‘Marta’s Song’ has a catchy staccato riff and simple but effective drumming. There’s an effective tempo change before another decent solo. It’s quite anthemic in places. ‘Strike’ has a very good start. A bit of guitar sustain and feedback, followed by a chunky riff. Those gritty vocals compliment the music well, aided by that solid rhythm section. There’s a nice nice bass section with harmonics and solo to follow too. An enjoyable track indeed. ‘Mothership’ has a catchy, flowing riff, moody vocals and slower rumbling bass sections, with solid drumming. There’s more tempo changes, with some nice twangy guitar bits. ‘This Is A Goodbye Ticket’ is up next. This track doesn’t sound like AC/DC !. It’s a little more rock ‘n’ roll, although the good solo does sound a little like Angus. ‘Single Man’ brings the cd to a close. There’s another catchy riff.
To be fair, although there’s a lot of nods to AC/DC, the riffs are quite varied and the songs are well delivered, with a good clear sound. I liked the production on the guitars. Overall, this is nothing new, but it’s fun, energetic and goes well with a bottle of Guiness West Indies Porter. Cheers.
By Chris Greenwood
