Keep Metal!

Recently, I headed over to the Roadrunner Record website to satisfy my thirst of pure brutal metal. And surprise, surprise, I stumble upon a very different kind band. And I like it. The band was formed in 2004 according to Wikipedia. They are from New Jearsey and they do a kind of music that was thought to be dead in the past years... Rock.

Before, I go all technical over their style, let me just introduce the band. They are called The Parlor Mob and they just released an album called And you were a crow. Actually the album has been released digitally only.


Old pic, isn't it? No it's not. You see these guys bring you back to the 80s rock era. The Guns and Roses and Jane's Addiction era. If you liked those bands, you will love The Parlor Mob. They sound very much like the 80s rock bands. Very retro, but they manage to not sound shit. I mean they do not sound like they are playing old songs on a modern amp. The quality of the record is up to par with modern albums, and yet they manage to sound "vintage". Believe me, that's not an easy task.

Musically, And you were a crow is a great album. The riffs sound like they come from the past, but never cliche. The vocals are sung high, but never annoying. The guitars sound great. And the guitar solos are damn fine. In fact , you can tell the guitarists are completely at ease with what they are playing. The drums merge well with the songs. Its not Machine Head drumming, but it still kicks some serious ass. Strong album we have here. I like it.

I haven't youtubed those guys yet. But I heard they are awesome live. They are compeltely in the 80s era. Abusing instruments, head tossing (head banging is for metal. haha) and running around the stage. This what rock is about. Yeah baby!

Okay now for the review. The album starts with the song Hard times. The song really sets the mood. We are in the early 80s. The song is perfect for an intro to such an album. The riffs are awesome. And Mark Melicia really shows his vocal talents here. There are almost spoken passages, sung ones, screamt ones. The guy is good.

The next, Dead Wrong song begins with a galloping riff. This is very common in thrash metal. But early rock had it too. Again the song is beautifully built. Never boring. I love transitions in songs. Not as in progressive metal, just simple transitions. I love the guitar part at 2.15.

Third song, Everything You're Breathing For is a masterpiece. Its almost like an 80s song. Actually, the song is so popular that the guys have recorded an acoustic version of it. The song is kind of slow with verses sung over a picking riff. But at the chorus, the guitars are unleashed. There's even a "stacato" part. Like in Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. I'm sure you know what I am talking about. Anyway I really like the way the song is sung. Reminds me of K-DST radio on GTA San Andreas.

The Kids is the next song. I love the way Mark Melicia yells "the kids ain't all right". At least this is what I heard, can't verify cause there's no full the parlor mob lyrics to be found on the net yet.

The next song, When I Was An Orphan, is also slow. With an acoustic guitar playing behind. The vocals are simply amazing. You can feel the elasticity of the singers vocal cords. Its is beautifully sung. Take this James Blunt.

On to the next. Angry Young Girl is another calm song. This album has a lot of calm songs. But they are nicely built. Most slow, calm songs tend to be boring because they are just made up under the shower. This one ain't.

Seventh track of the album is Carnival of Crows. Here the album is back on the fast track. Yes this a fast one. The song building is top notch again. The riffs are faster than in most other songs and a solo kicks in at 2.05.

Real Hard Headed comes next. "Cause I'm rude, real hard headed" says singer. The song is rather calm during the verses, but it rocks hard during the choruses, almost epic at times. There's a harmonica part which melds nicely with the rest of the song. 2.45, a solo kicks in. Its long, with vocals sung over it at times. Almost like Pearl Jam solos.

Next song is Tide of Tears. And the song starts with a rather creepy sounding arpreggio, building up to a chorus, but then getting back to the creepy part just when you would want it to break loose. The guys have got great song writing skills. It can't be denied. There are various nice licks and solos throughout the song. The song is 8 minutes long but never you feel bored, thanks to that. The solos are an albsolute must to listen to. Nice trade-offs.

My Favorite Heart To Break is the 10th song on the album. The song has some nice musically challenging passages. The lyrics ain't bad too. "My favorite heart to break". We all have one, don't we?

On to the next, Bullet is a good song. The lyrics are really screamt. And the guitars are aggressive. I love the way the song is aggresive, but has some very melodic licks played over. I can't say it enough, this is so 80 era rock. I really like how the interlude seems to be from a completely different song. You should really listen to understand that.

Last song, Can't Keep No Good Boy Down. The song starts with an acoustic guitar. You can hear people talking and beers chugging. And when the lyrics go "there's no turning back", everyone sings it. It kind of reminds me of country songs. It's even got people clapping in the background. Typical of country songs. The song is a great way to end an album.

Now that the review is done, I'd like to share something I read about the band.
The Aquarian Weekly, a New Jersey based newspaper, said "Basically, now is the time to go see them and say later on, 'Yea, you know, I saw them back before they took over the world,' because that's the way things are heading.".

This is funny but it might be true. I think it is. The album is just out and there are a lot of cover versions all around the net. I've even saw tabs of their songs. So people, I leave you now, but do listen to the previews of the album from Amazon.com (see top of post).

Buy The parlor mob - And you were a crow material