{"id":8078,"date":"2009-04-14T00:00:16","date_gmt":"2009-04-14T00:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=8078"},"modified":"2013-06-01T15:47:33","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T15:47:33","slug":"album-review-the-last-vegas-whatever-gets-you-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-the-last-vegas-whatever-gets-you-off\/","title":{"rendered":"THE LAST VEGAS – Whatever Gets You Off (2009) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE LAST VEGAS
Whatever Gets You Off<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nEleven Seven Music (2009)<\/span>
Rating: 9.5\/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

When I first heard The Last Vegas I wondered why they weren\u2019t massive? Whatever Gets You Off<\/em> is the sound of a band in its prime, a band knocking on the door and banging heads together. But then again, when I heard the debut albums of Beautiful Creatures<\/a>, Saigon Kick, Young Heart Attack<\/a>, I Love You, Love\/Hate, Brides Of Destruction<\/a> etc., I had the same excitement.<\/p>\n

In one instance I had the feeling that I was in possession of something bordering on great, but I also felt that all of these bands were way too cool to get anywhere, and this was proven in every case; I just hope The Last Vegas aren\u2019t going to be one of those bands described as \u201cthe best you\u2019ve never heard\u201d.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, tours in support of the likes of M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce<\/a> and, more recently, Guns N\u2019 Roses have put them in good stead, and with Nikki Sixx and Guns N\u2019 Roses guitarist DJ Ashba helping produce this record, one thing is sure, even the big boys are behind \u2019em. And rightly so, because The Last Vegas are a smoking hot, Chicago-based five-piece fronted by the enigmatic Chad Cherry who has been blessed with a set of pipes that remind me heavily of a mix between Cinderella\u2019s Tom Kiefer, AC\/DC\u2019s Brian Johnson and Fastway\u2019s Dave King.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a sucker for bands having the right look, and The Last Vegas are all about attitude and swagger, giving them that extra edge over so many other bands of this ilk. This is molten glam rock sleaze with a pure rock \u2018n\u2019 roll strut that pouts cavorts and stomps, but more importantly, it has the songs to complete the package. Behind Mr. Cherry sits the percussive prince Nate Arling who crashes, smashes and thrashes his way through the eleven tracks on offer, whilst his brother, Adam, accompanied by Johnny Wator, supply the licks, grooves and hip-shaking riffs, and the aptly named Danny Smash keeps the bass line thumping.<\/p>\n

The cauldron these guys stir is a mighty one, and the result is a smorgasbord of scintillating rock \u2019n\u2019 roll which will have you chomping at the bit. And what better way to start than the blistering rattlesnake shake of the title track. This is one of hard rock\u2019s greatest ever songs put to wax; a smouldering, hooky mini-masterpiece that writhes like a hellish hybrid of Primal Scream\u2019s \u2018Rocks\u2019 fused with AC\/DC, Aerosmith, The Cult and the Rolling Stones. This is as catchy as it gets, the type of track to get any party going, and it doesn\u2019t let up.<\/p>\n

The sensational \u2018I\u2019m Bad\u2019 saunters in on a Led Zeppelin<\/a>-ish groove, leading us into a killer chorus in which Cherry barks, \u201cI\u2019m bad, it\u2019s true, there\u2019s a little bit of me in every one you \/ I\u2019m bad, it\u2019s true, you can say that I\u2019m the Devil and there\u2019s nothin\u2019 you can do\u2026 about it\u201d<\/em>. \u2018High Class Trash\u2019 follows suit, all lipstick and leather on that sleazoid riff, nodding to the likes of Buckcherry and M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce, especially on that chanted chorus.<\/p>\n

But just when you think things can\u2019t get any better, we\u2019re treated to the Rolling Stones-esque vibe of \u2018Loose Lips\u2019, hand claps and all, with the bluesy riff as infectious as anything from the late 80s. And then the album reaches its finest moment, with the epic sounding hair metal ballad \u2018Apologize\u2019, co-written with Nikki Sixx. The song sighs in on a dreamy guitar and Chad Cherry\u2019s rasp, slowly building to that dramatic and oh so catchy chorus that once again brings to mind the scarf-waving beauty of Cinderella, particularly their minor hit \u2018Don\u2019t Know What You Got (Till It\u2019s Gone)\u2019.<\/p>\n

From here on in the band unleash mover after mover, from the sleazy \u2018Cherry Red\u2019 and \u2018Another Lover\u2019 to the cool, sexy, sassy \u2018Dirty Things You Do\u2019, in which Cherry adopts a more gravelled approach and spits, \u201cShe likes to fuck on a bed of money\u201d, whilst the twin guitar attack continues to melts the face.<\/p>\n

Whatever Gets You Off<\/em> is simply a rollercoaster that you will not want to get off. Support this band or forever wallow in the depths of your own backside. This is<\/em> rock \u2019n\u2019 roll.<\/p>\n

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

THE LAST VEGASWhatever Gets You Off Eleven Seven Music (2009)Rating: 9.5\/10 When I first heard The Last Vegas I wondered why they weren\u2019t massive? Whatever Gets You Off is the sound of a band in its prime, a band knocking on the door and banging heads together. But then again, when I heard the debut […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[353],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-last-vegas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8078","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=8078"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12179,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8078\/revisions\/12179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}