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February Spotlight - Fastback

With last month's acquisition of Texas based Azrael's Bane, my hard rock heart has been pumping to a fever pitch, anxiously awaiting the next underground treasure to emerge from the sleazy streets of America's Sunset Strip. A brand new engine hums its way into my living room via Fastback, a supercharged, fuel injected racer running stop signs and red lights in route to a sensational debut release, "The Pain Of Beauty". This megaton rocker puts L.A.'s Fastback on the top of my current stack of rock hopefuls, other wise known as "the group of hard rock stars who must be heard by Clear Channel".

Fastback was formed by Brian Saunders and Michael Thomas, two members who are well known for their contributions to the rock 'n roll scene of the 90s and the double 00s. Thomas cut his teeth with Beautiful Creatures, then jumped on board with Engines Of Aggression. Saunders was originally in G.I.V.E before signing up with Hair Of The Dog. Both guys have toured with the likes of Bang Tango and TUFF and originally met each other four years ago while working and touring together. Now the guys are focused on their very own hot rod machine, a pure rock vehicle that entertains from the drop of the green flag.

Fans of the 90s hard rock sound will really light up for this grand slam affair. Think of ready to rumble acts like Love/Hate, LA Guns, Bang Tango, and modern day bad boys like Beautiful Creatures and Brides Of Destruction. The band build their big block with all of the hard rock essentials including wicked hooks, sleazy songwriting, punk attitude, and catchy chorus parts. In fact this album really resembles a lot of the 90s sound that I personally grew up with, the heavier hard rock acts that were fueled with a slight dose of anger and hostility in their glam metal getup. In the 90s a lot of rockers were pushed to the backburner due to the likes of Kurt Cobain and those spoiled Seattle rich kids. The ending result was a slightly tougher sound mixed in with the all-night party antics.

From the heavy breathers like "Step Up" and "Independent", Fastback really kick a few teeth out, especially considering this type of sound is really dead, commercially speaking of course. With huge blasts of groove and bombastic hooks, these Sunset Strip warriors achieve a huge level of success in simply rocking the block. Vocalist/guitarist Michael Thomas does a fantastic job leading the charge, really embracing the hard rock Gods of the past, using his clean register to belt out some modern day classics. Brian Saunders steps in to lay down killer backing vocals and some wicked bass lines. The drums are fed in by way of a drum machine, which is the only negative I really have. I've always hated the sounds of programming but in this case the group keep the machines rather loose, a trademark for this type of genre.

"Step Up", "Independent", and "Pretty 'n Dead" are lethal little numbers that pack a mean wallop. "Love After Death" Bang Tango era comes to mind, but also groups like Kik Tracee and Tuff are surely influences for the band. "Spiders" is another titanic jam fest, fueled by a catchy chorus and some awe inspiring lead work. "Dig" and "Halo" play the ballads of the record, two easy listening cuts that recall the finest non-metallic moments of Tesla and Guns 'N Roses. "Find A Way" is a great mid-tempo slab with a straight forward riff throughout, sort of like a cross between Sweden's Loud 'N Nasty and America's Mother Mercy. My favorite cut is the punky rocker "Good Bye To You" which flows like a better Brides Of Destruction.

Those of you out there who really miss this type of sound, track down a copy of "The Pain Of Beauty". Folks who really enjoyed the first Beautiful Creatures, the recent releases by Loud 'N Nasty, and the latest offering from L.A. Guns should really sink their teeth into this. Brian Saunders and Michael Thomas really make a great combo considering this is just a debut. Hopefully the band can pick up a few more members and expand their sound. Look for the band on tour in England and the rest of Europe soon. Also some US dates will be added. Here is hoping that the new Motley Crue reunion tour picks up Fastback as the curtain jerker.

Tracklisting-
1. Step Up
2. Pretty 'n Dead
3. Independent
4. Spiders
5. Dig
6. Find A Way
7. Friend Of Mine
8. Good Bye To You
9. Sound Of Silence
10. Halo (Studio Version)