At the 1st of this month, we took a look at No Parole From Rock N Roll, and last week I showed you my favorite Alcatrazz songs (Some of them anyway). Now we’re at the middle point of their career: we got one guitarist out, one guitarist coming in, and a transformation that would change their music. Would it be better? Would it be worse!? Well, let’s take a look at my review of Disturbing The Peace, and see what’s what.
Background
By the end of the No Parole From Rock N Roll tour, it was obvious that there was tension in Alcatrazz. Though the band was popular in some circles, tensions were rising within the band. Yngwie’s now famous ego really became front & center, as he was constantly stealing the spotlight from everybody else, and wound up in one of the biggest on-stage blowouts in the history of Heavy Metal. So, with plenty of bitter feelings towards his former bandmates, he left with a chip on his shoulder that seems to have stayed on said shoulder to this day. So without a guitarist to shred with them, the search was on for a replacement. Enter Steve Vai: formerly a guitarist from Frank Zappa’s camp, he was discovered by Jimmy Waldo, who brought him into the band. Once Steve was in, he had just 1 day to learn all of Alcatrazz’s music, and he did. Once the trial by fire was done, it was time to sit down and crank out another album, and on March the 22nd, 1985, Disturbing The Peace was released to the public.
Disturbing The Peace also managed to get onto the Billboard 200, although not quite as high. It was up there for 7 or 16 weeks (Again, Wikipedia is weird in this regard), and reached the No. 145 spot. Not as good as No Parole From Rock N Roll, but still pretty decent for a more obscure band.
Basic Description
Wild & Fun.
Despite his incredible talent, Yngwie was really weighing down the band with his immense ego & pride. Kicking him and bringing in Steve Vai really changed this. Vai is a weirder, odder kind of guitarist. Able to play traditional Heavy Metal & funkier beats and rhythms, he seemed like the perfect fit for Alcatrazz. With him in, it seemed like the band was able to go a bit more over the top, and proceed down a path that was heavier & more Prog infused than No Parole From Rock N Roll was. Songs across this entire albums are definitely Heavy Metal, but there’s an aura of an eccentric artist in every nook & crannie. Definitely an upgrade!
Best Track
Like I mentioned in my overview, God Blessed Video has to be the best thing off of this album. Everything right, wrong, hokey, goofy, cheesy & silly about the 80s can be found in this song. Wild guitars, keyboarding that’s equal parts impressive & over the top, drumming that sounds like a machine gun, Graham Bonnet is just going to town with the vocals, and coupled with the most ridiculous music video of the 1980s (Not to mention being the 1st song on this album), it’s easy to see why this is one of the few songs from Alcatrazz that people can remember.
God Blessed Video
Worst Track
Breaking The Heart Of The City is the lone bad song of the album. Upon listening it a couple times more since my overview, I don’t find it as bad as others might. There’s definitely potential in the instrumentation & vocals, but much like Suffer me off of their last album, it seems to let go much of it’s potential.....although this one I don’t think drops as much of said potential, and it definitely can be fun in spots.
Breaking The Heart Of The City
Other
If you’re curious about this album, then check out the link below:
Disturbing The Peace
Overall Impression & Rating
Disturbing The Peace definitely ups the ante for Alcatrazz. A new guitarist game the band a second chance at life, and it allowed for new things to be tried out. The end result, while not an absolute favorite of mine, still has me hooked with it’s Prog Metal & Hard Rock undertones. If you weren’t satisfied with their first album, then Disturbing The Peace might fulfill that desire.
Disturbing The Peace gets a 9 out of 10.
And that was my look at Disturbing The Peace. With Steve Vai by their side, it seems like Alcatrazz might have a chance to shine on a great stage, but trouble was coming their way, and they would have to change one last time. I’ll get to that review at the end of the month, but before then I’ve got 2 updates for some of my older overviews next week. See you then!
No comments:
Post a Comment