Duff McKagen's Loaded – The Taking
Not a man to rest on his laurels and having an obviously strong work ethic, Duff McKagen has, in addition to joining (and then) leaving Jane's Addiction, somehow managed to find the time to follow up Loaded's 2009 album 'Sick' with new album 'The Taking'.
'The Taking' sees Duff again taking on guitar and vocal duties, and I'm sure he would be the first to admit that he doesn't have a great singing voice, but manages to use it to his advantage with his slightly punky inflection fitting the songs well. The overall sound is surprisingly raw considering legendary producer Terry Date (Slipknot, Pantera, Deftones) was at the helm, but rather then being detrimental this serves to add some extra bite to proceedings.
Things get off to a surprisingly heavy start with 'Lords Of Abbadon', with its sneering punk attitude, and then almost moves into Stoner territory with second track 'Executioner's Song', which wouldn't sound too far out of place on a Down album
Elsewhere on the album we have the radio friendly rock of 'Wrecking Ball' and 'Dead Skin' with their heavyweight hooks, 'Indian Summer' and its bittersweet chorus, like Gin Blossoms on steroids and perfect for summer driving, whilst 'We Win' is a slightly bland anthem with a similar feel to 30 Seconds To Mars' 'King's and Queens'. The finger-pointing 'Your Name' moves things back into heavier territory, which continues with the teeth-bared rant 'Follow Me To Hell' about a 'No good motherfucker with a black and twisted brain' and there's also a rock version and countrified version of the track 'Cocaine' for good measure (and no, not it's not a cover of the JJ Cale song!).
The Taking is full of well-written, memorable tunes, but does sound slightly disjointed at times, as if the band can't decide whether they want radio airplay or not. Nevertheless, this should help cement McKagen's reputation as a quality songwriter and be another step (along with his other band Velvet Revolver) in distancing him from being seen as merely the ex-bassist in 'that' band.