H R H - R E V I E W S

Demon Angels
Time of Confusion Perris Records

Comments: What's going on in music today? All of the classic rock bands are cannibalizing the industry and stomping on fans' hopes of hearing new music from the throats they've stolen. Kelly Hansen "lucked" into his gig fronting Foreigner, and Hansen is one of the best singers in the rock world, period. No new Hurricane; now, it's just "Jukebox Hero" over and over again. Jeff Scott Soto is always doing his best to keep the music coming, but with him taking over Steve Augeri's spot in Journey, well, who knows? The newest talented and obscenely overlooked singer to glom onto a classic rock band is Robin McAuley, who has joined Survivor. "Eye of the Tiger," really? And this comes after McAuley unleashes a project he sang on, produced and co-wrote, called Demon Angels Time of Confusion, which is as good as the music he made with MSG. Yes, it's that good … and he's in Survivor now?

Demon Angels has members from Germany and Italy and has released four demo CDs, but Time of Confusion is their first label release. Chris Falco, the guitarist, is really the captain of the band, and he's a helluva guitarist as well. John Lee on drums pounds expertly on all of the songs, and bassist Thomas Kirst is no slouch, either. Their songs are influenced by the likes of Mr. Big, Motley Crue, and obviously, MSG. Think big guitars and bigger vocals, thanks to McAuley.

"Gonna Get It" starts things off, and you can also find this song on Hollywood Hairspray 6 (Perris Records). McAuley has one of the most recognizable voices in rock, and he sounds huge. The chorus is catchy, the riffs are hard, and the band name is apropos as they give you a little Heaven and a little Hell on this one. The guitar solo is fluid and smart, and when McAuley screams at the end of the song, it makes you wonder where he's been hiding. This cat can howl.

"Movin' On" is next, another guitar focused rocker. You are going to hear a lot of MSG in their music, and with McAuley singing it's tough not to compare him to his prior bands. The chorus is insanely addictive, with the lines, "It's getting better, it's getting better … at least that's what I tell myself!" The drums go manic during the chorus, and Kirst is really slammin' the bass as well. Falco rips through an expert solo again, and every note you hear on Time of Confusion makes you want to hear more.

Acoustic guitar greets you on their radio friendly "Victoria," a bit of a slower, more classic rock sounding song. These guys make a wicked songwriting team. The harmonies during the chorus are probably the strongest on the whole CD, and McAuley continues his onslaught of pitch-perfect vocals.

The band shot a video for their first release, "Freedom," a politically-charged anthem. Lyrically, this is the one song where they are going for more than a workable rhyme scheme. "And you can't fool around, with a sword in your hand, telling me you're doing God's work. And you can't tell me, when you are down on your knees, that soon I'll go to Hell for what it's worth." While general enough to cover "people" in totalityl, it's pretty clear who and what this song is pointed at.

They close things with "Won't Let Go." As with most of the songs, Falco doesn't just riff his way into the song intro. He plays clean and precise leads that build into the first vocal line, and it makes the songs just more interesting. "Won't Let Go" is a simpler construction that has McAuley using a lower range than he does on most of the songs, and it works.

So, if you need it spelled out for you, Time of Confusion is a more than just a pleasant surprise. It will probably find itself on a lot of Top 10 lists for 2006, as well it should. Albeit only 8 tracks in length, they are all good. Definitely be a jukebox hero with the eye of the tiger pick this one up today.

www.perrisrecords.com

Track listing:
1. Gonna Get It
2. Movin On
3. Let"s Dance
4. Victoria
5. We Be Long
6. Freedom
7. The Promise
8. Won"t Let Go

HRH Rating: 8.2/10

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