TRUCKER DIABLO (The Devil Rhythm) CD
Before I heard a single note from 'The Devil Rhythm', I had prejudices against this Northern Irish band. This is principally due to the band name as well as the album title. I'm just extremely bored by all this devilish clichés in rock and I'm really surprised that TRUCKER DIABLO didn't use the worn out '666' somewhere. Well, a wise man once said, you can't judge a book by its cover. Moreover, 'The Devil Rhythm' has been re-released by Ripple Music, which is one of my favorite hard/classic rock label. So I was hoping that I was wrong, and put the disc into my player.
Unfortunately, everything changed for the worse after a few minutes. Here, we have some sort of obtrusive party hard rock, and silly song titles such as 'Drink Beer, Destroy' speak volumes. I am reminded of the German band Motorjesus, which are also under the compulsion of providing each song with a chorus that is made for large stadiums. In my mind I immediately see TRUCKER DIABLO's vocalist/guitarist Tom Harte how he encourages the audience to sing along. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Moreover, 'The Devil Rhythm' is pretty generic. Every song is suitable for public broadcast and there's practically no depth. Everything remains flat and lacks emotion. With a song like 'Juggernaut', it seems as if they want to convince fans of Black Label Society and Nickelback.
Speaking of Nickelback, I can well imagine how their fans describe TRUCKER DIABLO with words like "high-octane rock 'n' roll machine", but only because they have never heard a real high-octane rock 'n' roll machine. Additionally, the production is overblown and too slick for my taste. It's obvious they're going for quick mass appeal and that's an attitude I wholeheartedly despise. Bottom line: This is about as mindlessly commercial as it gets. Please save your money for a really great release from Ripple Music as for example Stone Axe, Mighty High, Modern Day Moonshine or Poobah.
(KK)