2014 CD Reviews - Adrenaline Mob - Men of Honor

[TageRyche]

The second full length studio album from Adrenaline Mob sees the band unleash another fiery collection of balls to the wall rockers that scream out for unabashed metallic glory.

Men of Honor finds the band with a new drummer, as co-founding member Mike Portnoy's musical wanderlust saw him heading off to start The Winery Dogs. The band enlisted AJ Pero (Twisted Sister) as their new man behind the kit to step forth into the new musical day without seeming to miss a step.

Guitarist Mike Orlando really shook things up with his fretboard pyrotechnics on the band's first CD, Omerta, and he wastes no time reminding listeners of his unlimited riff options with the superb intro on the album's first track "Mob is Back." He thunders on magnificently before the song kicks off in full.

The album, which comes with a bonus poster of the band, spends most of it's running time lighting up your ears but manages to wisely slow things down at times. It may be only a slightly slower pace but it does give you the chance to catch your breath before they start pounding the pace in your face all over again.

With the thematic approach surrounding the mob, it should come as no surprise that the song "Dearly Departed" sounds as though it is the metal anthem for a mob hit.

They downshift into a lower gear with "Behind These Eyes" but still manage to retain a powerfully heavy feel to the song.

Singer Russell Allan's gruff vocal approach continues to throw a little extra gas on the fire that is the band. He sounds particularly bestial on "Let it Go". The thing is that, because he's so good at finding just the right mix in how to approach his vocal approach, Allan manages to successfully straddle the line between melody and growling quite adeptly.

While "Feel The Adrenaline" was one of the first songs the band released to preview the album before its release, I found it started out well and then petered out towards the end. The very end of the song picks things up again, but I still felt that something was missing on this particular track.

Another one of the early preview songs was "Come On Get Up" (see/hear the video link below) and that up tempo track was better in my book than "Feel The Adrenaline".

I'm always kind of amused when I hear songs where the band manages to lose any sense of lyrical subtlety and just hits you over the head in the most obvious fashion. On Omerta, I thought it didn't serve the song well but on Men of Honor, the song "House of Lies" includes the line "I wanna fuck you til you scream my name".

There's no mystery to the intent of that line or the song at all after you hear it. But then there is the verse in the album's title track that can serve as a reminder for any person or group when an oath of loyalty, etc is involved:

Blood is burning

The saints are crying

Have you forgot who and what you are

You gave me your word

We swore allegiance

Don't turn your back on who and what you are

Now I don't know if the song and that specific verse was aimed at anyone in particular, but it sure is effective in getting the point across.

When I bought Omerta, I was just interested in checking out the band because two of the members were in other bands I happened to like, but that album turned out to be amazing. Now, faced with the possibility of a sophomore slump (I'm not counting their covers CD Coverta), Adrenaline Mob has fashioned a worthy successor to their debut album and pushed forward on their own musical journey.

Men of Honor lays it all on the line for the band and does not come up wanting.

 

[RJhog (Admin)]

Hmmm...I thought the first one was good, but nothing great.  Actually, I now remember nothing about it.  So I didn't pick this up.  Maybe I'll find it one day for a killer price and pick it up.

I see they had an accident on tour last week...glad everybody is okay.

[TageRyche]

The accident was pretty serious from what I read.

And I thought the first album was freaking awesome.