The New Czars - 'Doomsday Revolution'
The New Czars are a new rock band formed by singer/songwriter/guitarist Greg Hampton. With Paul lll on bass and David 'Chilli' Moreno on drums, the bands wealth of experience working with the likes of Lita Ford, Bootsy Collins, Alice Cooper, Bruce Dickinson and Courtney Love can only mean that this is a group of serious and very competent musicians. 'Doomsday Revolution' is their monster sixteen track debut album and features guest guitarist and King Crimson legend Adrian Belew on nine of the tracks.
The big sound is evident from the start with the hard rocking 'Keep On Goin'' , with its catchy chorus and understated vocals. The driving 'Confessions' with its indulgent guitars follows and is sure to wake the neighbours up as you involuntarily crank up the volume; this is so good.
The New Czars aren't just your average one dimensional set-up, they are multi talented and multi-layered. The tamer introduction to 'Desperate' shows the slightly more subdued side to the band. The nice diversionary changes of melodies and tempo are more than amply complimented by the raunchy guitar. Without selling out in the slightest, a more commercial slant is put on things with 'Why Do U Have 2 Lie' with it's very catchy chorus, this could and should become a classic.
The tracks come thick and fast, all well crafted and diverse enough to keep the listener interested throughout. The big, thunderous sounds are simply mind blowing on 'Don't Watch Me' and 'Brush With The Devil', whilst the contrasting retro guitar sounds of 'Time Stops' shows that there's been a lot of thought (and hard work) put into each song.
In my opinion the best track on the album is 'Abstract Prague'. Here there is some incredible guitar work and some very intricate King Crimson-styled melodies; an epic track. The rocking tracks are a-plenty; 'So Sure', 'Crashed', 'Doomsday Revolution' and 'Tell Me ' all provide as much punch as meeting an express train head on.
The sublime rotary effected guitar on 'Only Dreaming' is memorable; as is the drifting melodies and more restrained vocal delivery. By contrast, 'Had 2 Do It' is funky, layered and has some very competent guitar phrasing. Unsurprisingly, 'Funky Detour' is filled with complex sounds and structures and is again a masterful mixture of melodies.
The curiously named 'Crotch Critters' closes out the album. Almost jazz-funk, its complex structure changes rapidly and the hint of metal just makes it so much better. The Amazing guitar riffs are also worth a mention.
This is a great album by great musicians; sixteen tracks of hard, complex and very well put together rock.