{"id":6751,"date":"2012-08-21T00:00:54","date_gmt":"2012-08-21T00:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=6751"},"modified":"2013-06-01T14:27:14","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T14:27:14","slug":"album-review-lynyrd-skynyrd-last-of-a-dyin-breed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-lynyrd-skynyrd-last-of-a-dyin-breed\/","title":{"rendered":"LYNYRD SKYNYRD – Last Of A Dyin\u2019 Breed (2012) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

LYNYRD SKYNYRD
Last Of A Dyin\u2019 Breed<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nLoud And Proud (2012)<\/span>
Rating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Lynyrd Skynyrd is quite likely the most complicated band on the planet to compare to themselves. The southern rockers have two distinct eras to their career, the first of which damn near created a style of music, and the second carried on the legacy while trying to respectfully add to it.<\/p>\n

Beset by the passing of yet another original member, Billy Powell (keyboards), but energized by the welcome reception to the band\u2019s country flavoured God & Guns<\/em> (2009), the band hit the studio again to lay down the distinctly more rock \u2019n\u2019 roll, Last Of A Dyin\u2019 Breed<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Featuring the core team of guitarists Gary Rossington and Rickey Medlocke, as well as vocalist Johnny Van Zant, this is the first second era Skynyrd release that really holds water in my opinion. The album kind of takes back that powerhouse, blues-threaded, southern-twanged rock \u2019n\u2019 roll that dominated the first era and reminds fans that the band, despite its membership changes, is still the working class ball busters we consider them to be. <\/p>\n

The album kicks off with its slide guitar driven pinnacle and title track. Van Zant kicks it off with an \u201cOhh yeahh!\u201d<\/em> as a boogie beat underpins that seriously awesome slide guitar. Throughout the song we are reminded that there are few bands left like this.<\/p>\n

The bluesy bounce of \u2018Mississippi Blood\u2019 and its just-crunchy-enough guitars is a great moment as well. It honestly surprises me that I can attach myself to a song about chicks and southern blood, but Skynyrd\u2019s always been good at connecting with their audience.<\/p>\n

The ballad \u2018Ready To Fly\u2019 doesn\u2019t soar anywhere near the immortal \u2018Free Bird\u2019 (originally from Skynyrd\u2019s 1973 debut (Pronounced ‘L\u0115h-‘n\u00e9rd ‘Skin-‘n\u00e9rd)<\/em>) but it is an excellent moment of big balladry that echoes the sentiment of emotional pain and loss that everyone, everywhere has felt at one time or another. In other words, you\u2019re gonna need a lighter for this one\u2026 or a lighter app for your phone.<\/p>\n

The back porch appeal of \u2018Start Livin\u2019 Life Again\u2019 will make Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson smile, but probably won\u2019t do much for those clamouring for some more rockers. Personally, it\u2019s very much a highlight for me. <\/p>\n

On the other side of the coin, there are a few big letdowns here as well. The modern rock sound of \u2018Homegrown\u2019 is not only beyond stupid lyrically, it sounds like they purchased a leftover from the latest Shinedown album. The Lenny Kravitz-laden \u2018Good Teacher\u2019 is another moment that, while a little different, just doesn\u2019t work at all. <\/p>\n

For the most part, this is Skynyrd at their very best in a very long time. It\u2019s not perfect, but then again, I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ve ever liked a Skynyrd album from start to finish, so who I am I to say? No matter how you slice it, this is a rock solid album that is more than worth the money if you like southern-fuelled hard rock with a side helping of big country-tinged ballads. <\/p>\n

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

LYNYRD SKYNYRDLast Of A Dyin\u2019 Breed Loud And Proud (2012)Rating: 7.5\/10 Lynyrd Skynyrd is quite likely the most complicated band on the planet to compare to themselves. The southern rockers have two distinct eras to their career, the first of which damn near created a style of music, and the second carried on the legacy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,342],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-lynyrd-skynyrd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6751","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=6751"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6751\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12028,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6751\/revisions\/12028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}