Velvet Six: Demons Los Divas

From time to time, I go back and listen to the old rock and roll standards from the 1950s. I especially like Bill Haley and His Comets, The Everly Brothers, and Chuck Berry though there are many others I could name. Imagine my surprise, then, when I heard this album open with its own variation on the idea of "doing the twist." Sure, this isn't a rock and roll album, but I thought it was cool to hear the cry "let's do the twist" in 2015.

The rock and roll comparison, as I suggested above, isn't entirely fair, but there is something about the rhythm, the boogie, and the swagger of rock music that lurks behind the songs on this album. Just listen to tracks like "Twist," "Demons Los Divas" and "Loves Like" and you'll hear something reminiscent of a past age. Obviously, it's all processed through lots and lots of other influences—I can especially hear the impact of performers like Glenn Danzig (and others like him)—but there's definitely a strong looking backward on this release. I'm also a little bit reminded of really early punk, the kind that wanted to take things back to a simpler approach to rock music. I'm also partly tempted to call the music here "gothic" as well, though I'm sure several listeners would argue with that designation. I'm mostly thinking of the lyrical themes here—they regularly involve devils, demons, and temptations—rather than the actual music.

On the whole, the album is pretty good, but it will not likely appeal to fans of the most extreme kinds of heavy metal. Instead, this is for the hard rock crowd, listeners that like clear vocals, interesting lyrics, and grooving guitars, bass, and drums. The vocals are especially strong, swaggering, arrogant, and powerful. I'd say it's worth a listen. You may even want to do the twist.

Track Listing:
1. Twist
2. Demons Los Divas
3. Something Evil
4. Back to Back
5. Lightkeeper
6. Loves Like
7. Underneath
8. The Family
9. Blood Rain
10. I Saw

Added: March 14th 2015
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1646
Language: english

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