BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION – Here Come The Brides

Posted: 4/4/04

Reviewed by: Dirt

Category: Commercial Punk Rock/Heavy Metal

Released: 2004

Label URL: www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.com

Artist URL: www.bridesofdestruction.com

By now, you probably know that Brides Of Destruction is the new band from Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx and former L.A. Guns guitarist Tracii Guns. To round out the group, the guys recruited two unknown youngsters, singer London LeGrand (cool rock star name!) and drummer Scot Coogan. Brides Of Destruction ride the line between punk and metal, creating the most aggressive music Nikki Sixx has done in years. Certainly more appealing than the past few Motley releases, I have to give Sixx credit for coming out with something aggressive this late in his career. Guns was already comfortable with the guitar sound he uses on this record as he had explored a bit of this edgier style on L.A. Guns’ Vicious Circle record years ago. Singer London LeGrand has an appealing in-your-face but very listenable vibe (actually quite similar to that of former Motley vocalist John Corabi), and Nikki’s penchant for hooks adds a commercial aura to all of the songs, but without sacrificing any of the manliness. You might have seen the band recently on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno performing a cleaned up version of "Shut The F**k Up," a cool rebellious anthem. "2x Dead" is even stronger and should be the follow up single and video. A heavy ballad comes in the form of "Life" and a soft one appears with "Only Get So Far," showing the band’s ability to explore a lot of avenues.

The Bottom Line: This isn’t some lame release from two washed up 80s rockers. This is truly a new beginning for both Nikki and Tracii (although I thought the last L.A. Guns record was really good!). There are definitive songs on this record pulling from the best aspects of punk, metal, and even melody driven rock (from a vocal perspective). Every song has a chorus that you’ll remember too. While this doesn’t sound anything like Motley Crue, Here Comes The Brides will appeal to a lot of different fans - L.A. Guns fans, fans of new rock bands like The Vines, and fans of commercial punk rock.