Lillian Axe
Lillian Axe - Poetic Justice (I.R.S.) 1992
1. "Poetic Justice" (:39)
2. "Innocence" (4:57)
3. "True Believer" (4:27)
4. "Body Double" (4:44)
5. "See You Someday" (5:27)
6. "Living in the Grey" (5:15)
7. "Digital Dreams" (:50)
8. "Dyin' to Live" (4:25)
9. "Mercy" (4:14)
10. "The Promised Land" (4:19)
11. "No Matter What" (3:18)
12. "She's My Salvation" (5:30)
13. "A Moment of Reflection" (1:47)
Slick, glossy hard rock that is proficient but devoid of life. In recent months I have been getting into a lot of the old AOR and melodic metal stuff, and while Lillian Axe has the chops, the songwriting just isn't very exciting. While this CD is on, I do enjoy listening to it, but as soon as it goes off I can't remember a single song save for the cover of Badfinger's "No Matter What." Having said that I thing the band has strong vocal harmonies and their overall pop vibe is quite inviting, which means I will probably spin this disc again. Perhaps with a few more listens it could grow on me. I dig the funny cover art, which is what prompted me to check out this CD to begin with.
Lillian Axe - Psychoschizophrenia (I.R.S./Grand Slam) 1993
1. "Crucified" (3:37)
2. "Deepfreeze" (5:26)
3. "Moonlight In Your Blood" (4:12)
4. "Stop The Hate" (5:42)
5. "Sign Of The Times" (4:50)
6. "The Needle And Your Pain" (4:26)
7. "Those Who Prey" (5:13)
8. "Voices In My Walls" (4:57)
9. "Now You Know" (4:28)
10. "Deep Blue Shadows" (4:06)
11. "The Day I Met You" (3:18)
12. "Psychoschizophrenia" (5:40)
My first exposure to Lillian Axe was the album that preceeded this one. I must say, I wasn't overly impressed and didn't rush out to find any other CDs by them. Over time I received a handful of emails from people telling me I need to check out any other Lillian Axe album. Well, one day this CD showed up in my mailbox, so I decided to give them another listen. (Thanks Kurt) Yes, Psychoschizophrenia is a big improvement from what I remember of "Poetic Justice". The band seems tighter, the songs darker and heavier, but most importantly, the song writing is better. The songs feature a nice blend of heavy guitars, pouding drums, thumping bass, but they are also melodic and memorable. After the first listen, I could already pick out a few favorites including the opening track "Crucified" and "Sign of the Times". They are certainly not the sappy hair metal they are labeled. Even their lyrics are deeper than the average party-til-you-puke, hair band. Their vocalist even offers side notes to each song title to clear up any questions anyone might have about the song. Very cool. Perhaps now, I will invest a little more time listening to these guys.