MetalSucks

Vince really likes Buckcherry, but I’ve never gotten into any of their songs that aren’t the big hits – namely, “Lit Up” (a.k.a. “the one about cocaine”) and “Crazy Bitch” (a.k.a. “the one about fucking”). Like so many bands that hoped to be the Appetite-era Guns N’ Roses of the late 20th/early 21st century, Buckcherry always just felt like they were trying way too hard to prove what a bunch of bad-asses they are. GN’R never actually used the words “cocaine” or “heroin” in a song – Buckcherry’s biggest hit finds them shouting “I LOVE THE COCAINE! I LOVE THE COCAINE!” In case anyone doubted that they were the real deal. Puh-lease.

So. Former Buckcherry bassist JB Brightman has a new band, Black Robot, and – no shock here – it’s readily apparent that they want to be AC/DC. If you’re one of those people who unironically loves retro-hard rawk that has no sense of originality whatsoever, then you will probably dig this band. And whatever you do, stay away from Loudermilk and Manmade God – bands that actually make excellent, original hard rock.

And, hey, guess what? Black Robot covered Clapton’s “Cocaine!” How original! How shocking! What a bunch of bad-asses! Now I can finally burn my copy of Appetite for Destruction!

Barf.

-AR

It’d actually be misleading to proclaim Spiralarms a retooling of Manmade God, as guitarist Craig Locicero is the only member of the band who played in Manmade God — but from the sound of the band’s songs, it sure sounds as if he’s the one calling the shots. Spiralarms, from the San Francisco Bay Area, also features Tim Narducci (ex-Systematic) on guitar/vocals, Chris Kontos (ex-Machine Head, Testament) on drums, Chris Lombardo on bass and Brad Barth on keyboards.

If you’re a fan of post-grunge flavored hard rock (think: Soundgarden, The Toadies, even some GN’R and Zeppelin in here) and you somehow missed Manmade God’s tremendous self-titled 2003 debut, you’ll definitely be wanting to check out the track “Safe Passage,” below. Big, chunky heavily distorted guitars drive the beast forward underneath Pann’s rich tenor, which reminds me of a mores soulful, gritty version of Filter’s Richard Patrick. There’s a also a fan-generated MySpace page with some Manmade God tunes on it.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/FQ5b18_BV3g" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Like it? Good. Go download the whole album on your favorite torrent site or P2P app, as I’m sure the band doesn’t get a lick of royalties from you buying the CD, and good luck finding it on eBay. Now Check out the new project, Spiralarms, at their MySpace page.

Our L.A. readers can catch Spiralarms TONIGHT playing a showcase gig at the Viper Room in Hollywood at 9pm.

-VN