|
 |
The Gauntlet: Guns N' Roses |
 |
Guns N' Roses Album Review
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Tracklist
Reckless Life
Nice Boys
Move To The City
Mama Kin
|
With the release of this brash, cocky MCD, a relatively unknown group called Guns N' Roses introduced the metal community to their sleazy brand of no holds barred, blues injected metal. Guns N' Roses broke out of the Hollywood scene as the epitome of bad boy crash and smash bands, led by charismatic vocalist W. Axl Rose, who quickly gained a reputation as being one of the most edgy, out of control singers this side of Stephen Tyler. Much of the appeal of GN'R stemmed from the fact that they were a group that hailed from the streets, living life in a devil may care fashion which provided the group with an aura of being an underdog, setting out to annihilate the glitz and glamour of the existing Sunset Strip scene. The Gunners brought a punk attitude into metal that previous acts such as Motley Crue never managed to fully capture.
This four song barn burner kicks off with the high intensity "Reckless Life", an upbeat, scathing affair that set the direction of the group for years to come. Rose assumes the character of the ultimate defiant rock badass here, wailing in his trademark high baritone screech above the bluesy, box based riffing of lead guitarist Slash. Izzy Stradlin kicks in some dirty feeling Keith Richards inspired licks and the combination of the two guitarists served to provide the band with it's dangerous, riot inciting tone. On "Nice Boys", we find the group setting into another speedy groove, while Rose reminds the audience "Nice boys don't play Rock N' Roll". The combination of bassist Michael "Duff" McKegan and Steven "Popcorn" Adler on the skins was a potent one and here they lock in together like a vice, providing a driving backbeat that is strictly relentless.
'Move To The City' finds the group giving a nod to early Aerosmith, it's dirty shuffle slinking while Rose spits out an angry scat that fits the track like a tight leather glove. Slash tears through some ripping Jack Daniels influenced soloing that would hint at this young axe slinger's eventual Rock God status. Again, the band shows their love for Aerosmith with a sped up, punked out version of 'Mama Kin', from the legendary self titled release by the Boston blues bashers. Geffen records was wise to release this brash introduction to the group in extremely limited quantity, as it certainly set a buzz for this soon to be legendary band in the metal underground. Chaotic, destructive and undeniably out of control, this release would set the stage for one of the greatest albums in the history of heavy metal.
Review by: Erin Fox
Read Member Reviews
|
|
|
