Nikki Sixx

Sixx:A.M. – Prayers For The Damned Vol.1 Review

Posted on by edwardlayland

SixxAM_Cover_PrayersForTheDamned-960x960There aren’t too many surprises on the ‘Prayers for the Damned Vol. 1’, the new album from Sixx:A.M., but hey, if it ain’t broke, why try to fix it? Nikki Sixx and co have hit upon a formula for their killer brand of hard rock that works; there’s massive choruses, massive guitars, massive bass lines and massive harmonies that all make for a massive sound on this loosely biblical album of pop metal.

Pop metal? Yep. When your lead singer is a man who writes hits for the likes of Kelly Clarkson and has an ear for a melody Katy Perry would kill for, if you took out the totally badass guitaring of the superb DJ Ashba and Sixx’s penchant for a bit of twisted darkness, make no bones about it, you’d be left with radio friendly, commercially appealing, uber positive pop.

From the word go on the first single ‘Rise’ we get everything this power trio holds dear; a hard rock groove from the low slung guitar, a hook filled chorus that flies ever higher as it progresses, a killer solo and Nikki’s bass bubbling away in the background. Damn it, there’s even the a ‘capella line before the grand finale. It ticks all the formula songwriting boxes, but when your band is this tight and your production this slick, you can’t fail to deliver.

How do you follow that? With another swaggering riff straight from Sunset Strip of course! It’s a thin disguise though, You Have Come To The Right Place is about as perfect a piece of hard driving pop as you can get. I’m Sick starts out as more of a slow boiler, but soon picks up to continue in pretty much the same vein, but what the hell, I love a bit of radio friendly rock as much as the next man, like they say in the song: “I’m sick, gimme some more of it!. There’s a particularly awesome solo though, as the song gathers pace for the climax.

The middle section of the album takes on a more serious tone with a more measured pace, the Sixx:A.M. brand of self help delving into issues of making amends, finding hope out of the darkness and turning to God. Better Man possesses an undercurrent of melancholy to the atmospheric guitar lines and James Michael’s vocal is a little more understated, while ‘Prayers for the Damned’ and ‘When We Were Gods’ have a particularly epic feel to the uplift as they push the religious imagery, the latter mixing things up a little arrangement wise with an unexpected twist towards the end.

Sandwiched between is ‘Can’t Stop’ with its marching vibe, but there’s an air of filler to it, although it is sure to work better in the live arena. ‘Belly of the Beast’ pricked my ears up a little further though, it really showcases what Michael can do vocally when he leaves his comfort zone and it’s a cool switch up.

There’s more than a hint of Motley Crüe in the opening chords to ‘Everything Went To Hell’ but the comparison ends there and it turns into something of a vehicle showcasing Ashba’s playing. DJ has to be one of the most underrated guitarists in the game and his playing throughout this album is nothing short of stunning, the killer riffing and sublime soloing a constant, adding another dimension to otherwise ordinary tracks like ‘The Last Time (My Heart Will Hit The Ground).

Album closer ‘Rise of the Melancholy Empire’ rounds things off in predictably epic style, though the delicate piano and atmospheric guitar lines add a touch of class. It is a quality way to end Volume 1, with the second half of this double album project set to drop later in the year.

This is probably Sixx:A.M’s strongest record since ‘Heroin Diaries’, pretty much every track has a winning hook, the playing is first rate and the production superb. Ok, so they like a pop melody and know how to deliver a chorus, but it’s not like they have art rock aspirations and what they do is done in style. There is a massive market for this kind of music, so when a band are writing songs with a message and turning in such great performances, superstardom is pretty much a given, not bad for what started as a side project.

8/10

Check out more on Sixx:A.M. here:http://sixxammusic.com/
For some superb photography of the band and a whole load of other rock stars visit this amazing webpage: http://www.stephansdotter.com/gallery/people/

Sixx A.M. – Six(x) of the Best

Posted on by edwardlayland

SIxxAM

In the current musical climate it takes something special to pull off Hard Rock without it sounding like a lukewarm version of the 1980s. Thankfully, the combined talents of Motley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx, Guns n Roses guitarist DJ Ashba and multi-platinum producer/engineer/songwriter James Michael not only pull it off, but also add a modern twist, experimenting with a variety of sounds over the band’s three powerful records.

Originally formed back in 2007 for the soundtrack project to Nikki’s brutal ‘Heroin Diaries’ book, Sixx A.M. were never even meant to tour, but public demand soon changed that and the busy schedules of the individual members had to be put on hold. The tour led to a second record, also accompanying a book, Nikki’s photography project, ‘This is Gonna Hurt’, which inevitably led to more touring, more recording and the release of 2014’s ‘Modern Vintage’. All three albums are jam packed with hard rocking hook filled tunes, but they also include an array of interesting touches, from catchy pop, through industrial to music hall and the theatrical.

There’s a kind of freshness and instant likeability to the creative hotbed that is Sixx A.M.; Michael knows how to deliver a good old fashioned radio-friendly hook, yet their heavy assed tracks are glued together by Ashba’s powerful riffing and soaring solos, all underscored by Sixx’s rumbling bass. As well as covering the hard-hitting subject of addiction and recovery, there’s plenty more substance to the lyrical content in their accessible take on modern life. As Nikki says:

“A big part of our message is, and will always be, finding hope in dark subject matters, taking universal messages and rendering them in a way which people can ascribe their own meanings to and relate to their own life experiences. That is something that resonates with our crowd and gives us the strength of connection we do.”

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Now that the final nail has gone into the Motley Crüe coffin and that Slash has (temporarily) made up with Axl, it looks like Nikki and Dj might have a bit of extra time on their hands to dedicate to this intriguing project which keeps serving up killer tunes. With Michael making space in his prolific songwriting and production schedule, the coming release of their fourth album Prayers for the Damned Vol 1.’ and the possibility of Vol.2 also following in 2016, should see the band making serious waves; there are already a number of top festival dates confirmed. In the meantime, ‘Rise’, the killer first track from the new record, has already dropped and the album is set to follow in late April, so as a taster, here are six(x) of their best…

‘Relief’ from ‘Modern Vintage’
This starts out like an urgent hard rocker, but soon takes on a darker feel with a more restrained vocal, before the annoyingly catchy chorus. Although a little less epic than some of their work, the frantic feel gives it a vibrant energy that makes for a killer tune.

‘Stars’ from ‘Modern Vintage’
For high quality slickly delivered melodic hard rock, it don’t get much better than this.

‘Lies of the Beautiful People’ from ‘This is Gonna Hurt’
Despite being seriously hooky and possessing a touch of uplift to the chorus, this is actually one of their darkest tracks and features some great work from DJ Ashba.

‘Life Is Beautiful’ from ‘THe Heroin Diaries Soundtrack’
Although ‘This is Gonna Hurt’ has some great moments it’s the ‘Heroin Diaries’ that is all killer and ‘Life is Beautiful’ showcases pretty much everything that rocks about this band – great chorus, banging riff – good, straight forward, hard-rocking tune.

‘Van Nuys’ from ‘THe Heroin Diaries Soundtrack’
They manage to include a killer hook and put a commercial spin on this claustrophobic track about Nikki’s addiction. It also features some lovely touches in the instrumentation as well as James Michael’s most versatile vocal performance; superb.

‘The Girl With Golden Eyes’ from ‘THe Heroin Diaries Soundtrack’
There are so many great tracks on ‘Heroin Diaries’ that it’s actually difficult to pin-point a favourite; I love ‘Courtesy Call’, ‘Pray For Me’ rocks and ‘Dead Man’s Ballet’ is one of the most innovative tracks they’ve done, but there’s something about this song that I love – maybe it’s the brutal honesty of the track, the building intensity or just its atmosphere – whatever, it’s a great track.

Check out new track ‘Rise’ right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzEsBe2bt3w and check the website for news on the album and up-coming tour here: http://sixxammusic.com/

Also, you can check out more of the spectacular photography of Stephansdotter on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stephansdotter or online at http://www.stephansdotter.com.