{"id":7610,"date":"2012-10-31T00:00:18","date_gmt":"2012-10-31T00:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=7610"},"modified":"2013-06-01T16:04:05","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T16:04:05","slug":"album-review-t-and-n-slave-to-the-empire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-t-and-n-slave-to-the-empire\/","title":{"rendered":"T&N – Slave To The Empire (2012) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

T&N
Slave To The Empire<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nRat Pak (2012)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Featuring three former Dokken members, T&N (which stands for Tooth And Nail, although we\u2019re not allowed to mention that!) consists of axe-master George Lynch, bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer Mick Brown, who are accompanied by a handful of special guest vocalists who have breathed new life, if it was required, into five reworked Dokken classics from the 80s (with Brown on drums), which sit alongside seven brand new tracks (recorded with drummer Brian Tichy, who has worked with Ozzy Osbourne, Foreigner, Whitesnake and many more). Some fans may feel that the Dokken tracks were not required, and I tend to agree to some extent, but in the modern era it seems the \u201cin thing\u201d for artists to produce albums with a variety of guest vocalists. Even so, Dokken records will always stand the test of time, but after hearing how good the original tracks are on Slave To The Empire<\/em> I\u2019d have preferred an album consisting of entirely unique material.<\/p>\n

Oh well, you can\u2019t have it all ways, so let us first look at the reworked Dokken cuts. My favourite has to be \u2018Kiss Of Death\u2019 featuring the vocal talents of Tim \u201cRipper\u201d Owens. Now this guy has a serious set of what I\u2019d call power metal pipes, and it\u2019s no wonder Owens has been seen as the only \u201creplacement\u201d for legendary Dio frontman Ronnie James, featuring respectively for Dio Disciples, and has also been part of Judas Priest\u2019s back catalogue, although his best performances were with Charred Walls Of The Damned.<\/p>\n

Tim ignites \u2018Kiss Of Death\u2019 with his warrior wails and screams, backed by the ever dark and moody riffs of Lynch. The gallop of the drums from Brown complements the shuddering bass of Pilson, and the track takes on a new life, although naturally it lacks the melody of Don Dokken. But the point of these \u201ccovers\u201d was clearly to add extra steel, and on \u2018Kiss Of Death\u2019 T&N have succeeded, effortlessly combining icy rhythms and primal screams. Great stuff!<\/p>\n

\u2018Tooth And Nail\u2019 features the soulful voice of Doug Pinnick (King\u2019s X), who gives the vocal attack a more subtle flow, but behind him the music still rages \u2013 killer licks, and clattering drums. If T&N take this record on tour, Pinnick should be the man to take on all vocal tasks.<\/p>\n

Another standout track is \u2018Alone Again\u2019, which is delivered vocally by Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row) who makes a fine job of this. The track boasts some wistful acoustics before lurching into a deep chug. Bach is a spectacular metal frontman who sings from the soul and \u2018Alone Again\u2019 almost becomes his own; a stirring, simmering semi-ballad fused by the tight musicianship. This cut wouldn\u2019t seem out of place on one of Bach\u2019s own records.<\/p>\n

Although Robert Mason (Warrant) fronts \u2018It\u2019s Not Love\u2019, which isn\u2019t too bad, I find myself craving the original on this one, maybe due to its hair metal chant, but this is still a good effort. The band really shines however with the booming \u2018Into The Fire\u2019 featuring Pilson\u2019s excellent vocals, which are fiery and hearty. The track builds to a sturdy, in-your-face metal classic that sounds like it was recorded back in the fiery 80s, rather than being a rework of the Dokken classic.<\/p>\n

The same could be said for the opening title cut, and one of seven brand new songs, which is a full throttle fist pumper. But the band\u2019s darkest edge is evident on the mid-tempo, grunge-tinged \u2018Sweet Unknown\u2019 with its brooding riff and wicked vocal sneer. \u2018Rhythm Of The Soul\u2019 is another slow burner although does tend to drag, and this is the only issue I have with the record, particularly the mid-section.<\/p>\n

Although tracks like the aforementioned \u2018Rhythm Of Soul\u2019 and \u2018Where Eagles Die\u2019 are massive, robust numbers, by being a tad shorter they would\u2019ve benefited. For instance, the latter, which clocks in at six minutes, is hindered by its length, although it does showcase some superb soloing courtesy of the inimitable Lynch.<\/p>\n

Jeff Pilson\u2019s vocals really were a surprise, giving the album a meaty melody that complements the shadier guitar riffs. \u2018Mind Control\u2019 is a prime example of how this works; a menacing riff injects the heart of the chorus. The only weak track on the record is \u2018Jesus Train\u2019, a bluesy shuffle that lacks the weight of previous efforts. Maybe this track could\u2019ve been left on the studio floor, but thankfully album closer, \u2018Access Denied\u2019, keeps the fire burning; a whopping six-minute plus number with killer melody and doom-laden chug. Pilson\u2019s vocals on this track take on a thrashier tone to complement Lynch\u2019s cutting riff. The vocal effects on the chorus are great too with their mechanised edge.<\/p>\n

So overall, Slave To The Empire<\/em>, as I expected, is a behemoth of a metal album. One that respects the legacy of Dokken but propels it into the 21st century, thanks mainly to the tight-knit musicianship of the Dokken trio. Although the guest vocalists have made this record one of variety, it may have been better without them, with Pilson clearly being man enough for the job. I\u2019m pretty sure T&N will simply go down as another brief project, but it\u2019s certainly one that has been a rip-roaring success. Hard as nails!<\/p>\n

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

T&NSlave To The Empire Rat Pak (2012)Rating: 8\/10 Featuring three former Dokken members, T&N (which stands for Tooth And Nail, although we\u2019re not allowed to mention that!) consists of axe-master George Lynch, bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer Mick Brown, who are accompanied by a handful of special guest vocalists who have breathed new life, if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,396],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dokken","category-tn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7610","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=7610"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12213,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7610\/revisions\/12213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}