{"id":21894,"date":"2014-10-07T00:00:22","date_gmt":"2014-10-07T00:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=21894"},"modified":"2014-10-11T12:45:19","modified_gmt":"2014-10-11T12:45:19","slug":"album-review-sixx-am-modern-vintage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-sixx-am-modern-vintage\/","title":{"rendered":"SIXX:A.M. – Modern Vintage (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

SIXX:A.M.
Modern Vintage<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nEleven Seven Music (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 6.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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I have to admit it, I was dreading reviewing the latest Sixx:A.M. album. Why? Simply because as a unit they have produced such dull and dreary albums since their inception in 2007, and it\u2019s something I find so difficult to criticise because the band contains two of my favourite musicians in Nikki Sixx (bass; M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce<\/a>) and DJ Ashba (guitar; Guns N\u2019 Roses).<\/p>\n

With Nikki Sixx performing his last rites with M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce it would seem that Sixx:A.M. is to be his main focal point in a new quest for world domination. This is something that shouldn\u2019t be too much trouble at all, because these guys have managed to marry the commercial and almost middle of the road corporate rock sound with occasional flashes of the brilliance which littered the previous bands of these gifted musicians.<\/p>\n

However, while Sixx also, and so briefly, plied a gnarlier trade with the excellent Brides Of Destruction and guitarist Ashba sprouted from the fiery ruins of Beautiful Creatures, Sixx:A.M. is a far removed beast and one which continues to grate on my bones in spite of their popularity.<\/p>\n

Sixx:A.M. is a beast that is just sorely lacking and time and time again I have to speak of James Michael\u2019s woeful vocal displays; his voice typically accessible and harmless to a T, but it\u2019s a mournful croon that applies a glossy finish to an album that just does not adhere to the 70s influences it speaks of.<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s third album kicks off with \u2018Stars\u2019 and a classy slap of Ashba riffage \u2013 it\u2019s the sort of lick which coated those obscure yet sonic Beautiful Creatures albums and made them so beefy, and yet by the time Michael wafts in on the night breeze the sound has become a glossy, tame sheen. There is just something so depressing about the Sixx:A.M. manner. I just can\u2019t put my finger on it, but the contemporary design and Michael\u2019s lack of oomph just gets me every time \u2013 each track seems to soar with promise and yet runs out of legs by halfway in spite of some excellent guitar work from Ashba.<\/p>\n

\u2018Gotta Get It Right\u2019\u2019 comes bouncing in like some Brides Of Destruction leftover; one could almost imagine London LeGrand screaming that introductory squeal. Then we\u2019re back to the basics though, Michael\u2019s quivering warble just lost within a pop-edged rhythm which will no doubt send this harmonious lump of sugary pomp straight to the top of the charts, but the reality is it\u2019s just so sonically dull.<\/p>\n

Of course, one must remember that it\u2019s all about taste and opinion, and for me Sixx:A.M. just do not live up to the expectation, because for every half-decent track there are too many which just depress and pretty much sum up the modern climate of rock songs. In fact, there doesn\u2019t seem too great a distance between Sixx:A.M. and the likes of the equally dreary The Killers or Foo Fighters. That\u2019s not to say these bands sound the same, but they belong in that some cold void where tracks such as \u2018Relief\u2019 provide a meek soundtrack to this sullen dimension.<\/p>\n

However, this time round Sixx:A.M. does attempt some type of experimentation; \u2018Get Ya Some\u2019 is a half-decent semi-Gothic carnival of delights, while \u2018Let\u2019s Go\u2019 has a slamming Marilyn Manson<\/a>-type industrial stomp to it complete with gang chants, but again it\u2019s let down by James Michael\u2019s ineffective warble.<\/p>\n

\u2018Drive\u2019 is a piano-led number that sounds downright painful when compared to the original 1984 classic performed by The Cars. Again, the band, particularly Michael, seems to wallow in self-pity; the gloomy expressions all too frequent for my liking in a world that is in desperate need of cheering up.<\/p>\n

\u2018Give Me A Love\u2019 offers up extra punch, but why does Ashba\u2019s guitar sound so restricted? Thankfully, the chorus offers up a nice kick although the track does seem to be somewhat of a filler. Fortunately, the marching glam stomp of \u2018Hyperventilate\u2019 does bring some respite from the gloomy gloss, but again it just feels as if I\u2019ve heard all this before; any time Michael attempts to up the ante in his voice the band becomes somewhat tormented yet unconvincing.<\/p>\n

\u2018High On The Music\u2019 is another of those grating sub-standard pop-rock numbers that may as well feature Jay Z, such is its commercial plod. In fact, it\u2019s as if the band is so comfortable with being in that middle of the road rut that any decent ideas or flickers of imagination appear watered down time and time again. How can one get \u201chigh on the music\u201d<\/em> and \u201csing along likes its yesterday\u201d<\/em> when the sound is one so contemporarily turgid?<\/p>\n

It takes the band more than half-an-hour to finally inject some strut with the funky groove of \u2018Miracle\u2019, and lo and behold James Michael seems to find an extra level in his vocal performance; his voice wonderfully complements the cool swagger, but it also gets me thinking that Michael is clearly better suited to a lighter, poppier sway rather than anything remotely metallic. While \u2018Miracle\u2019 is a shining beacon within a grey haze of metallic dullness, it\u2019s also completely out of place on this opus.<\/p>\n

We then come to the swanky jig that is album closer \u2018Before It\u2019s Over\u2019, a bar-room tinker that exists as a joyous, yet again out of place melody more suited to one of those summer rain kaleidoscopes offered by Brit Goth rockers The Cure.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m unsure as to what the metalheads will make of this album, but I doubt Sixx and co. will care. However, what Modern Vintage<\/em> does is prove that Sixx:A.M. could evolve into a far less metallic beast and appeal to one and all, but then there\u2019s that fear of losing the rock crowd. Of course, there is always the option of Nikki Sixx forming another, more experimental band where tracks such as \u2018Miracle\u2019 and \u2018Before It\u2019s Over\u2019 may be better suited. But while they continue to churn out the rather droll aspects of contemporary rock, then I\u2019ll be sticking to the edgier racket of Buckcherry, The Last Vegas and the likes.<\/p>\n

If you ask me \u2013 and many won\u2019t \u2013 Sixx:A.M. kills for a vocalist of Josh Todd\u2019s (Buckcherry) design, and all the while that is missing it seems as if Sixx:A.M. will continue as a half-baked cocktail that lacks bite from beginning to end, making it a rather acquired taste.<\/p>\n

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

SIXX:A.M.Modern Vintage Eleven Seven Music (2014)Rating: 6.5\/10 I have to admit it, I was dreading reviewing the latest Sixx:A.M. album. Why? Simply because as a unit they have produced such dull and dreary albums since their inception in 2007, and it\u2019s something I find so difficult to criticise because the band contains two of my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sixxa-m"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21894","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=21894"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21899,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21894\/revisions\/21899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}