Badlands - Badlands

After having the album repeatedly recommended for me to pick up, I finally broke down and bought a copy of Badlands self titled record. Previously I had heard a song off of it and liked it, so that bode well for me liking the rest. When in hand, it all looked innocent enough, leather clad, long haired fellows gracing the cover, and some 'name' people involved. Jake E. Lee is a fairly well known guitarist, having shredded for the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Eric Singer was drummer in KISS, Ray Gillen was best known for dying, but he had his following in his day and after his passing on. Finally, could that be "the" Paul O'Neill, mastermind behind Trans Siberian Orchestra and even Savatage now, producing this thing? It sure seems so. They even had a slogan, "Feels so good to be so bad", which we will find out, means alot more than what initially meets the eye. So with all these elements going for it, how did I end up liking it?

Well... not very much, truthfully. Although the guitar playing is better than just 'solid', Jake really blazes with extreme Jimmy Page overtones, there are so many nagging flaws popping up that its hard to see through to the 'meat' of the release. My main complaint is with the vocalist, Gillen may now be a 'legend', but on most tracks, he sounds like Robert Plant pretending he's Ian Gillian doing his best David Coverdale impression, and sounding pretty much indifferent through it all. Vocals are flat and boring, but come to think of it, that matches the songwriting perfectly. Badlands had this Texas-western blues flavor mixed with Led Zeppelin to their music which does not appeal to me in the slightest. That is coupled with extremely generic songs that go nowhere and take their time doing it. I pity the ones who bought this because someone said it was "Whitesnake-like". Little fault can be found in the production, which is crisp and clear.

1. "High Wire" - An unimaginative 'rocker' that offers new meaning to the term generic.
2. "Dreams in the Dark" - One of two tracks I had pre-tested before taking the leap and purchasing the disc. Gillen puts his best performance in on this one, which was released for radio airplay so good thing he did. All elements situate themselves nicely, a hook-filled chorus, and overall Whitesnake feel. This would become the one bright spot among the dark shrouded masses.
3. "Jade's Song" - is the other track I had heard, and even though I feel that Yanni and Zamphir could come up with something better during a brainstorming writing session, the instrumental still radiates with an acoustic sweetness, but then again so does Kenny G's "Forever In Love".
4. "Winter's Call" - feels like a reworked Led Zeppelin song, right down to the repetitive cries of catch phrases and words such as but not limited to, "ooh your love", "mama" and "baby-baby" in pure Plant fashion, and the clangy, bangy acoustic guitars and drums. All the blues harps and mandolins in the world couldn't save this, and you will find both scattered amongst the howling, adding insult to injury.
5. "Dancing On the Edge" - begins promising, with chugging electric guitars, but as soon as Robert Pla... oops I mean Ray Gillen starts up, it goes downhill in a blink of an eye.
6. "Streets Cry Freedom" - You might think Bruce Springsteen is opening up but alas its just another Badlands song. However a little cliched, it turns out being not half bad, with some interesting parts, including taking a turn for the unexpected, revealing a raw and growling guitar solo in the middle.
7. "Hard Driver" - Painful to take, especially in one sitting, there are hints of Whitesnake... but that voice... turns this song into shattered ruins of what could have been a decent uptempo stomper.
8. "Rumblin' Train" - Slow and grinding, like a tune played by a gritty blues band on amateur night at a dive in the middle of nowhere.
9. "Devil's Stomp" - Acoustic and mid 70s 'rocking' Led Zeppelin impersonations with a dash of modern hard rock combine for a raw mess. They did manage to come up with all the perfect elements to grate on someone's poor nerves though, especially with the addition of tamborine and maracas. Some instruments just are not meant to be thrown into metal songs, and those are two of them.
10. "Seasons" - This is supposed to be the big emotional ballad for the disc, but all the excessive vocal wailing misery and feedback ridden guitar moaning, grate in a similiar fashion as the song before it. It should have been against the law to use acoustic guitar in this clanging manner during the 1980s. Maybe it worked for Led Zeppelin in the 70s but here it sounds out of place and just awful.
11. "Ball and Chain" - The 'bonus track' for those lucky saps who bought the cd instead of the tape or record back in its heyday. What a reward it is too, for this song whips most everything else on the disc, despite its sluggish take off, lurching rhythm and guitar that squeals like a pig.

I understand alot of people have bought and enjoyed this album, so I can easily recommend it to already established fans of the late Ray Gillen or Jake E. Lee, as well as anyone who does not mind listening to a vocalist who is heavily reminiscent of Ian Gillian and reeks of Robert Plant rolled into one. For those fans, and I know there are alot of you, then just ignore this whole review. Unfortunately for me, I personally do not like either Gillan or Plant's voices, and illness sets in with those type vocals supplied along with Page-ish guitar chops and uneventful Zeppelin clone songs. If you are looking for glam or melodic hard rock, then avoid at all costs.

Rating - 4.2
by Alanna Evans
More Metal Reviews