{"id":18120,"date":"2014-02-08T00:00:50","date_gmt":"2014-02-08T00:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=18120"},"modified":"2014-03-20T20:51:31","modified_gmt":"2014-03-20T20:51:31","slug":"album-review-vanity-blvd-wicked-temptation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-vanity-blvd-wicked-temptation\/","title":{"rendered":"VANITY BLVD – Wicked Temptation (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

VANITY BLVD
Wicked Temptation<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nNoisehead (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 4\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Swedish rockers Vanity Blvd are a quartet who seem to be trying too hard to convince us that they are a cool rock \u2019n\u2019 roll band. The group has suffered various line-up changes since their inception in 2005, but one ingredient has remained; vocalist Anna Savage, who once again purrs her way through this rather harmless and often clich\u00e9d album, the follow-up to 2008\u2019s Rock \u2018N\u2019 Roll Overdose<\/em> debut. <\/p>\n

Considering how fertile Sweden is when it comes to heavy metal, Vanity Blvd\u2019s rather dull, rock-by-numbers sound is a tad too watery for my liking, and the main problem is the vocals.<\/p>\n

While the band \u2013 consisting of guitarist Traci Trexx, bassist Pete Ash and drummer Gebb \u2013 seem happy to rattle out substandard, 80s-styled glam-tinged metal, the vocals just don\u2019t have the power or the charisma to rise above the rest of the mediocrity. To say this is generic metal is an understatement, as the likes of opener \u2018Dirty Rat\u2019 aimlessly rock by with no real purpose or oomph. <\/p>\n

Think Ratt, M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce<\/a>, et al but a thousand leagues below, and you\u2019ll find yourself rather numbed by this tirade of sickeningly accessible bubble-gum rock. Sadly, the choruses fail to stick, and the all-round feel is one that seems to bog down so many modern bands of this ilk. Sure, try to revive the 80s if you wish, but there\u2019s just something distinctly lacking in this new wave of metal which has seen the likes of Reckless Love become successful at shameless parody.<\/p>\n

However much I try to like the pompous pop of \u2018Miss Dangerous\u2019, with its driving riff, or the thrashy entrance to \u2018Do Or Die\u2019, my revulsion soon kicks in once the tepid vocals make their introduction akin to a barroom croon. Miss Savage, for all of her enthusiasm, just doesn\u2019t possess the power or showiness to drag this dead horse out of those stagnant waters. <\/p>\n

Gebb tries his best to batter and pound the skins, but Traci Trexx \u2013 for all of his glamorous name suggests \u2013 is merely an extra annoyance as his licks waft across the room upon a wave of banality. \u2018Had Enough\u2019, \u2018Thrills In The Night\u2019 and closer \u2018Dirty Action\u2019 are just plodding, generic glam rock stomps which are completely bereft of potency and send my head spinning with boredom. <\/p>\n

Wicked Temptation<\/em> is a prime example of how modern dynamics and 80s rock revival don\u2019t always go together. With that in mind I reach for the stop button, so tired am I by hearing so many powder-puff bands that have about as much swagger as a dead chicken. Incredibly unadorned, Vanity Blvd are just another band lacking the glitter and edge in their bid for stardom.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VANITY BLVDWicked Temptation Noisehead (2014)Rating: 4\/10 Swedish rockers Vanity Blvd are a quartet who seem to be trying too hard to convince us that they are a cool rock \u2019n\u2019 roll band. The group has suffered various line-up changes since their inception in 2005, but one ingredient has remained; vocalist Anna Savage, who once again […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1142],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-vanity-blvd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18120"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18123,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18120\/revisions\/18123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}