I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the guitar work of Bernie Torme. Ever since his days with Gillan, and especially his solo career that immediately followed, his raw, explosive mix of metal, hard rock, and punk always appealed to me, no matter where he turned up. Back in 2006 he put together GMT with former Gillan mate John McCoy and drummer Robin Guy, and their debut album Bitter and Twisted was loads of fun, a good hard rocking album that showed that these guys were still about making quality, raw rock & roll. Fast forward to 2008, and the trio are back with Evil Twin, a very appropriate title, as this one is like the 'evil twin' to their debut, an even more nasty collection of wild songs featuring Torme's blistering guitar licks, rock solid rhythms, and most importantly, memorable, hard rockin' tunes.
Bernie's old comrade in Desperado, Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, shows up on the humorous opener "Punko Rocker", a real fun piece with a great hook and lots of wild guitar playing. Too bad these two don't do more together...hint, hint. Other tracks like "Bullet in the Brain", "You Can't Hold Me", and the title track are garage friendly anthems, filled with Torme's twangy vocals and squealing whammy bar theatrics. The noises this guy gets out of his Stratocaster is simply mind boggling. The band slows things down for the groove-laden heavy blues of "One of These Days", Torme's screaming guitar lines providing the perfect foil to McCoy's bulbuous bass riffs, while "Holy Roller" is a fast paced speed metal piece with plenty of punk attitude. "Wheel of Fortune" sees the band outdoing AC/DC as far as delivering groovy heavy rock (great bluesy, metallic riffs from Torme on this one), and closing number "The Humours of Mr. McCoy" is a classic example of a beer-swigging party rocker, chock full of sing-along choruses, screeching guitar solos, and pounding rhythms from McCoy and Guy.
There you have it, ten tracks of 'get on your feet and rock' tunes from the boys that call themselves GMT. Evil Twin is definitely something you should seek out if you are into no holds barred, good time heavy rock and roll with plenty of scorching guitar licks. Now, I need to crack open another cold one and hit the replay button!
Track Listing
- Punko Rocco
- Bullet In The Brain
- Evil Twin
- You Can't Hold Me
- One Of These Days
- Jonny Sitar
- Holy Roller
- Wheel Of Fortune
- Perfumed Garden
- The Humours Of Mr. McCoy
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