Sounds like AC/DC on speed…

Hellride indeed!

Cut from the same cloth as the many legions of Rock & Rollers Hell-bent on returning the grand ole tradition of tuning down and amping up in the backyard shed, Hellride is presumably from up North-well, I already knew this but they're constructed of the same two shits to the wind Scandinavian funnies who've crept up from under the hood to blur back to the 1970's and cut ties with the latest tradition…

I mean, what are ya gonna make of a band made up of Pete Evil, Alex Action and Tex Burger?

Lux Interior… not quite, but you get the drift.

These guys are fucking loud for one thing-"Highway Demon" was the first tune and thus the AC/DC comparison quickly presented itself and Anti-Christ / Devil's Children somehow doesn't sound so far fetched!

"The Devil's Own" is another ill tempered and highly toxic rush fed of six-string obliteration and pulsing groove that'll knock yer own block off and leave ya coming back for more.

First heard of these guys through those exemplary Rock & Roll compilations, "The Fistful Of…" series, on their eighth by now I believe and showing no signs of slowing, but right away, here's this band that stood way our from the pack in spite of the roughly eighteen other contributors rocking their balls off.

Hard Rock has found a new life and its because of bands like this who obviously are doing nothing new but rehashing, rather, the true spirit of dirty, sweaty loud Rock that co-existed, but couldn't compete with the fashion conscious of the time, beaten and unbowed though it was, it's resurfaced in a big way through bands like Hellride and here's six engine blowing reasons to get excited again before the scene gets devoured in a glut of its own overdrawn cyclical inevitability-stay tuned for the follow up…

My apologies first to Zugly, the bass-player for leaving him out earlier in the brief mention of this offbeat cast of character actors doubling obviously as '57 Chevy's rolling down the highway to Hell.

"Making Out With Fire" is no less volatile than its EP-like predecessor, maybe slightly muffled in terms of output, not in terms of recording quality which remains superb whilst retaining the grunt and groove aspect only with a smoother melody bed with less ruffles.

Fluffy as that might sound, theirs is one of Rock & Roll knuckle-dusting-a real ground in stain on the white collar of clean cut mainstream music that yields little if any in the way of conformity, yet theirs is a clear progression from that which they begun a few years earlier, as with many, slightly toned, more in tune and still typically off the wall if not the meter.

"Sugar Cane" and "Good Times" are more in line with the classic 70's era Kiss, nearly a playfully Ramone-ish quality with a newly developed sing-along character, more tuneful, no less disrespectful.

Still well at home in the Deadbeats, Gluecifer, Leftovers boarding house (of kicks?) and their knack for aiming a sharp hook right in your ribs remains as prevalent as ever.

"Dead When You're Gone" is as good as they've done so far, and one step forward nearly toward commercial viability should such a thing have existed for this most unflattering art form known once and again as simple "Rock & Roll."

Very formulaic to be exact but an exact science this is not, but its fun to listen to and crank on the car stereo time and again because its cool, hip factor maybe notwithstanding, its crass, somewhat overbearing and altogether loose for the weekend warrior riding on the fringe waiting for the last minutes to tick away…

Here's another in a long forming line of modern Rock & Roll statesmen building their own destiny right down to the last chrome fender as they pay homage to a sordid past made slightly less than famous by a life's worth of record collectors.

Released by White Jazz Records

Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu]