This is an open forum for staff members, contributers, and fans alike to submit their reviews on the latest music releases and concerts. In an industry that is drowning with overprocessed, grossly overrated, unoriginal crap these days, this is our chance to allow the real stars to shine, if only on our humble, little stage; and expose you to some of our favorite talents.
Reviews are given 1 - 5 stars.
Madhatter
Bats In the Belfry II
Pain Killers
Disappear
Rock & Roll Contract
Sunshine Suicide
Falling Bombs
Black Moth
Carry The Load
Burning Bridges
Bats In The Belfry I
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Within ten seconds of pressing play on “Hex” I wanted to hate it. With a passion. But, because my mother told me to give things a chance, I soldiered on. What I ended up hearing was actually not bad.
Bigelf obviously worships at the gigantic alter that metalheads everywhere have erected to Black Sabbath. The album’s first track, “Madhatter,” begins with an Ozzy-like howl that echoes over and over, Crazy Train-like. Bombastic, stripped-down guitars a-la Tony Iommi, are everywhere along with fairly mediocre bass playing and straightforward, no-frills drumming. Had I not known better, I might have thought I was listening to a long-lost Sabbath album from the mid-seventies. Even the CD packaging wouldn’t have helped convince me otherwise. The cover features a forest scene with a blurry elf (or something which I’m sure is intended to be sinister) in the foreground while the photo of the band shows long-haired, bell-bottomed guys decked out in obligatory, standard-issue crucifixes.
To say the music is derivative is like saying that Britney Spears isn’t a real good mom. It’s a first-class understatement. But, through the course of the album, Bigelf shows they’ve got more in their bag of tricks than the uncanny ability to sound like Sabbath.
While “Pain Killer” and “Sunshine Suicide” clearly show Sabbath influences, “Bats In The Belfry II” and “Rock & Roll Contract” sound very Beatles influenced. Or rather, Beatles by way of Cheap Trick by way of Enuff Z’Nuff. Lead singer Damon Fox’s vocals straddle the line between Ozzy and Robin Zander, as odd as that may seem. Other tracks, such as “Falling Bombs” and “Disappear” maintain that Sabbath-like bombast but feel more like something Deep Purple would have produced in their heyday.
The bottom line? Hex isn’t fantastic but it’s certainly not bad. The problem is this – when you listen to this album you’re going to find yourself saying “hey this song sounds like…” not “wow, this is great.” Bigelf made a decent album but it’s so derivative it begs for comparison with those they try to emulate, making it difficult for it to stand on its own.
Reviewed by: Chris Cactus | November 2007
