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Metal/Prog Metal CD Reviews

The Tracy G Group Tramp Review by Gary Hill Tracy G is best known for his work in Dio's band. Don't expect this to sound like Dio, though. The music here is generally more on the fierce and a bit raw heavy metal side. The guitar work is exceptional, but you probably expected to hear that. There are quite a few instrumentals. The only complaint I'd have is that it does have a bit of a tendency toward overly similar pieces of music, without any big difference in ferocity until the closer. Still, this is an effective set. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2018 Volume 1 at garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018.

Track by Track Review

The Revolution There is a shouted, distant kind of voice at the start of this, delivering orders. After a bit metal guitar brings the cut into being from there is a slow moving powerhouse arrangement. That voice continues over the top for a time. Then a short instrumental interlude gives way to the first actual vocal movement. This is a killer metal that's part King Diamond and part Ozzy Osbourne solo in a lot of ways. I love the bass work in the backdrop of this.

The Erector The guitar riff that opens this has hints of Van Halen, but with a fiercer metal vibe. This is just plain mean. This instrumental has a lot of interesting shifts and changes. I love the bass sound on the cut. Of course, the guitar soloing is exceptional, too.

Leech Another screaming hot stomper, this thing is so meaty. It has some of the Ozzy meets King Diamond element in a lot of ways. This is fiery.

Brokenness A slower, more stripped back piece, this has a lot of drama in the mix. While a lot of it is essentially a vocalist showcase, there is a faster paced jam later that turns into an all out instrumental screamer.

Arrogant P***k There is a bit of a raunch and roll kind of vibe to this. It's quite mean and angry. It gets a definite parental advisory. This has a lot of punky raw texture in the mix.

The California Country Jamboree While this starts with an almost technical metal vibe, and that returns at times, the cut has a great groove. It almost feels like a more metal version of Joe Satriani to me in a lot of ways. They even take into some funky territory mid-track. This is an effective and varied instrumental. It gets quite dramatic at times.

Bleed This is a screaming hot metal number. It's built around a powerhouse guitar sound. The vocals drive it with a raw fury. The guitar solo is tasty and quite meaty. Near the end it drives out into a punk type bit. That gives way to a short acoustic guitar based bit of intricate beauty to end.

Evil Is Good Mean and screaming hot, this is another killer slab of furious heavy metal. There are drops back to a restrained rhythm section here and there. This is pretty crazed in a lot of ways.

Fireball Imagine Jackyl with a more crunchy metal edge. You are probably in the right vicinity of this killer cut.

P.C.H. Another instrumental, there is a healthy helping of epic metal in the mix here. The shifts and changes on this even lean toward prog rock at points. Still, Satriani is a valid reference again.

Sea Of Pain A powerhouse stomper in the raw metal vein, this is another killer tune.

Liar Dramatic and powerful, this is raw and just so cool.

Me Myself And The Rain Acoustic guitar brings this into being. From there it works to a melodic ballad style arrangement. This instrumental is pretty and a big change. Personally, I think it would have worked better somewhere earlier in the disc to separate some cuts that brought less variety.

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