Crooked X - Rock 'N 'Roll Dream
Record Label: EMI/Capitol Records
Release Date: January 27, 2009
Crooked X have awaken power pop metal from its hibernation and hauled it straight onto the front lines. This is heavy metal done up with classic Cinderella/Skid Row stylistics anchored by smoking nu metal riffs and a Southern rock tint relatable to Saving Abel. Crooked X’s 10-song debut record Rock 'N' Roll Dream for EMI/Capitol Records is helmed by hit producers Spencer Proffer (Tina Turner, Quiet Riot, WASP) and Michael Wagener (Ozzy Osbourne, Skid Row, Poison) offering songs that sound like the band put a folk in metal‘s most prime meat. It’s an album that bridges 80’s pop metal with modern power rock delivering a baby that has tell-tale chromosomes of vintage Guns N Roses with cells liken to modern rock’s Mudvayne. Crooked X have essentially resurrected our beloved pop metal, and at the same time they are taking it into a new era with a bang.
The throaty timbres of lead vocalist/guitarist Forrest French are David Coverdale sultry as he moans hoarsely like a man groping strenuously at a rope to pull him to the top of a mountain. The guitar riffs of Jesse Cooper are Kirk Hammett rich, and the rhythmic pounding of drummer Boomer Simpson and bassist Josh McDowell can turn concrete into mulch. Without a weak track on the album, Crooked X show that they are deeply serious about playing nu metal music with substance. The steep peaks and troughs lining “Nightmare” are bone-chilling, and the blustery riffs of “Killing Kind” twist with a torturing ache that leaves you feeling deliriously winded. The thrusting licks of “Time Is Now” feed your blood with excitement, and the low registers of French’s vocals in “Fade Away” echo eerily like a man wanting to find sanctuary from a horrific existence as the track closes with a series of tenderly soaked guitar chords that resemble the airy vapors of a violin. The songs are a reflection of the struggles, the conflicts, and the dreams that humans have, and still teenagers themselves, Crooked X uncover their strong connection to these very grown up issues.
Virile and intense, Crooked X reveal enough of their cards on their album to whet people’s appetites and pique an interest to want to hear more from these guys. Cooper, who plays a Jackson Mark Morton Dominion guitar with an EVH 5150 amp, a Digitech whammy and Boss pedals, tells on the band’s website that “our music is good for any age.” Crooked X seem to know who they are and what they want. They are young lads from Oklahoma whose songs show a level of maturity that is attractive to rock fans at any age. Their debut album is very impressive and sure to spur excitement.
This band is seriously amazing. They are all 14 years old (maybe 15 by now?) and only started playing when they were 11. I had the opportunity to hang out with their manager (the dad of one of the kids) for awhile this summer and hear the whole story. I guess they all used to play football and decided playing instruments would be more fun, thus the band was formed.
I think it's awesome, they completely blew me away live, and I wish all the best for them.
And that singer kid, holy crap! He sounds like the lovechild of James Hetfield and Layne Stayley. It's ridiculous and awesome.
I call shenanigans on like every review she's written. She basically copies and pastes the same review, changes the stupid descriptions that don't make sense in the context of the band in question, and gives it either an 85 or a 65.
I call shenanigans on like every review she's written. She basically copies and pastes the same review, changes the stupid descriptions that don't make sense in the context of the band in question, and gives it either an 85 or a 65.
This.
I click on her reviews because the comments/RIYL make me laugh.
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