Jim Levatte - This Ain't My Day track review

Year : 2016
Genre : Country with a Redneck Rampage tint
Origin : United States

On the surface, Jim Levatte's single "Ain't My Day" is the picture perfect representation of the most prominent redneck ballads, yet, your host is both reckless and inventive enough as to spill nitro instead of family friendly orange juice on the well behaved parade. Levatte prefers well placed, elegant irony over sunset-supported hay-sentimentalism, and challenges the redneck ethos, as opposed of being a mere-, helpless, submissive participant and observer to it.

The production choices reign in a safe spot between shotgun-grade southern rock and retirement-home pleasantries, making the track a candidate for an immediate revisit upon completion. Read on to know more.

Do you know the Guns 'N Roses song "Breakdown"? Anatomically, Jim Levatte's effort shows a greal deal of similarities with said declaration, particularly in the context of the harmonic structures and the evoked emotions. This track is more exploitative though, - which now is a compliment - as it exhibits an almost undeniable urge to deliver a status report AND call it a day ASAP, a decision that serves the longevity of the track even as a first time encounter.

Country is a great-, but uncompromisingly pretentious genre at its heart, and this pretentiousness is the sole reason that the style also reigns as a timeless one. Because pretentiousness rarely goes out of fashion. < -  Pro Tip! You are simply not supposed to say and do SOME things in country, because folks surely will give you a slanted look, and/or a good old fashion beating for bonus good measure.

Levatte knows all the tropes of the genre, thereby the reason he embarks on a journey to see the depth of the curvey mirror the redneck ethos is STILL willing to scrutinize itself in: a brave and a hilarious agenda. Had he come out with a full length fueled by the same intention, he easily could be to country what Steel Panther is to hair metal. As such, based on this track alone, Jim Levatte definitely has found a legitimate type of rhetorics to resonate through, and one remains curious to see if the artist will have enough content under his belt to fill a full length declaration with.

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Heavy Star - Electric Overdrive review

Year : 2016
Genre : Heavy Metal with a Rock & Roll tint
Origin : Italy

Italy's Heavy Star brings a super-traditional method to the metal, through which a deep appreciation of the most classical and well-founded genre-tropes are observable.

Times are not seldom when the disc evokes feelings and sentiments reminiscent to those meticulously established by the original glam metal era of the '90s, only-, and THIS is a BIGASS only: there is a more eloquent definition of BALLS on display, and this consideration, luckily, is of key importance - both in the context of intensity and compositional techniques. As such, a good amount of the content will revolve around the longing for the quintessential woman. Which is perfectly valid, as there is not much else worth longing for while occupying a male body or two, anyway.

The songfract is everything in this style, and this time, it is channeled according to the strict-, yet imaginatively interpreted-, ingrained rules of the game. The band does not seek to re-invent the steel, as they are perfectly aware that it is working trustily, and they came merely to wield it. With a soberly paced flow optimized for 8 hefty declarations of elegantly concealed romance, Heavy Star is truly having a blast showcasing mature variations on this hilariously sexist - therefore fun - brand of metal, administering it with apt skills showcased in their collective acumen. Read on to know more.
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