MEZZANINE (American Burnout) CD
I don't know, if guitarist and vocalist Joe Carpenter is aware of the fact that his vocals are sounding as if he's the small brother of Pepper Keenan. The first half of "American Burnout" is comparable with a basic unreleased demo version of COC's masterpiece "Deliverance", what means that MEZZANINE have the same musical influences like southern rock and 70's hard rock. Especially the first two cuts "American Burnout" and "Distance Between" could've been unknown demo cuts from COC's "Deliverance" album. But in present times, where it's nearly impossible to create something new in the heavy rock genre (because everything had been played before), it's more important that a band is able to write strong hooks and convincing songs. And in my humble opinion, MEZZANINE have been successful accomplished this goal.
They are sounding very authentic in what they are doing and another big plus is the variety of the here included material. Moody acoustic bluesy songs like "Halo of Flies" or the instrumental "Monomach" are alternating with heavy groove-drenched tracks like "Waited too Long" or "This is the Zodiac speaking...". "Dig a Hole", a nice cross between AC/DC and Lynyrd Skynyrd, is already known from "The Ultimate Fuzzcollection Vol.1", although MEZZANINE aren't that typical Fuzzrock gang. So, if you're looking for an entertaining unspectacular blues-driven Hard Rock album, you should check out "American Burnout, that had been released by Belgium Buzzville Records. It's always nice to listen to this album, while having a few cold beers at the next summer sunset.
(KK)