Hollywood Monsters Capture the Sun Review by Gary Hill
The main guy here is Stephen Honde. He is the main writer, singer, multi-instrumentalist and much more. His band includes Vinny Appice. This album lands in the hard rocking vein. At times it's somewhat raw - think "Motorhead." At times it leans toward metal. At other points it gets into prog rock territory. It all works pretty well, though. Yes, there are peaks and valleys, but overall, this is a solid disc.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017 Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Mysteries of Life
Less than a minute in length, this includes sound-bites and weird effects.
Evilution
As this thing powers in it feels a lot like Motorhead. The vocals make me think of Clutch in some ways. However you hear the influences, though, this is a fast paced hard rocking stomper that's almost heavy metal. The organ later in the song begs comparisons to Deep Purple. The guitar solo, though is screaming hot metal.
Always Crashing the Same Car
This comes in with a slower tempo, but it still feels like metal. It drops back for the verses, though. I wouldn't call it a ballad, but it's not a screamer in terms of the music either. The vocals have a bit a raw hard rock edge. This is very much a classic rock styled number with a modern raunch and roll vibe to it.
It's a Lie This is another smoking hot metallic stomper. There is almost a glam rock vibe to some of this.
Waiting A mellower cut, there is almost a jazz vibe to the guitar sound as this leads out of the gate. The tune is a balladic number with a cool groove to it.
Don't Let It Happen If the whole album were like this, it would land under "progressive rock." There are sound bites (I recognize Vincent Price's voice at one point) over the top of some mellow music that makes me think of Pink Floyd. This is slow and very poignant. It's a nice contrast to the raw power that makes up a lot of the disc.
Another Day in Grey, Pt. 2 This song is alright, but not a standout. It's more of melodic rocker. It just feels a bit awkward in some ways. It also is only so interesting.
Everything Is Going to Be Alright Here's a straightforward rocker. This is more energized and rocking. It's not one of the highlights, but it is a step up from the last song. It's still just good old hard rock music.
Dreams This melodic rocker works really well. It's another that is almost along the lines of progressive rock. This is actually one of the best songs here.
King for a Day This might be the best tune of the whole disc. It has a lot more of that Pink Floyd vibe, but with things like The Beatles added to the mix. Yet there is still a raw rock and roll edge to this thing. It's a melodic rocker that leans into the prog rock vein.
Capture the Sun The title track is another highlight. It starts in melodic rock fashion and has some proggy leanings. It grows out by the end to more hard rocking stuff. It's such a cool growing tune that's very effective.
Sweet Thing / Candidate / Sweet Thing (Reprise) Here we get a medley of David Bowie songs. This comes in mellow and grows out in classy fashion. I'm not crazy about the low register vocals at the start of this, but the cut grows out to more standard vocals from there. The piece builds in a measured way to more rocking territory. There is some exceptional guitar soloing on this beast, too. The lower register vocals return later, but work better. In fact the closing section is the one point that really feels like Bowie. It's also one of the most effective parts of the album.
Fool for Your Loving (Bonus Track) A Whitesnake cover, this rocks out really well. I'd consider it one of the best songs here, really. Sure, it's a bonus track, but technically it ends the album. And, it does so in a great way.
