NEIL
TURBIN
ex-Anthrax vocalist gone solo.
Neil Turbin - Threatcon Delta (MetalMayhem) 2003
1. "Wake Up Call"
(:24)
2. "Cut To The Chase" (2:51)
3. "What You Can¹t Control" (3:28)
4. "Sick Of It All" (3:04)
5. "Keep The Fire" (3:52)
6. "The Truth is The Best Lie" (3:49)
7. "Blue Screen of Death" (3:03)
8. "Dolly Dagger" (3:40)
9. "Rat Race" (3:33)
10. "Vigilante Justice" (2:50)
11. "Touch Too Much" (4:32)
12. "Wrecking Ball" (3:35)
13. "Dog Eat Everything" (2:42)
14. "Piece of Me" (3:15)
I wasn't really sure what to expect from Neil, not having heard anything from him in decades. I held off buying this one until I could read some reviews. I finally read a review that convinced me. The main selling points for this CD are 1) Neil sang on one of Anthrax's finest albums "Fistful of Metal", and 2) the host of names he brought in as guest musicians to record this CD. Guest musicians that helped Neil out, appeared in bands such as: M.S.G., Dio, House of Lords, Rough Cutt, Malmsteen, Quiet Riot and included such names as Jeff Scott Soto, Ronnie Borchert, Vern Anderson, Sean McNabb, Paul Monroe, and Claude Schnell. "Threat Con Delta" is a very good, classic metal disc with strong touches of melody. It almost seems like Neil is as much a fan of melodic metal bands as he is of the more aggressive speed metal stuff. (Just check out "Wrecking Ball"). I have read several reviews that try to compare this disc to Anthrax due to Neil's connection to the band. However, this disc is nothing like Anthrax. In my opinion Neil has a slightly more generic sound than Anthrax. That is not to say this CD isn't good though. On the contrary, this CD rocks! It's just that trying to compare the two bands seems like a moot point. Unlike Anthrax, Neil has not given to "modern" sounds and productions and maintains a very traditional feel. He is not even attempting to "compete" with his former band. Neil's disc is 14 cuts of high energy metal with much more "classic" feel to it. The eleven original tracks on this disc stand out above the pack. "Cut to the Chase", "What You Can't Control", "Vigilante Justice" and "Sick Of It All" are full throttle speed metal attacks. "Keep The Fire" has a slightly more 80's heavy metal sound with Neil singing his heart out. There are three cover tunes as well, including a cover of AC/DC ("Touch Too Much"), Jimi Hendrix ("Dolly Dagger") and an excellent remake of the 1993 House of Lords track "Johnny's Got A Mind of his Own", (from "Demons Down") now reworked and re-titled, "Wrecking Ball". (Probably my favorite cover of the three.) Overall, this album does have a slightly disjointed feel at times as it is virtually a different musician on every track, but I suppose that is what solo albums are supposed to be. Regardless, I still found it enjoyable and that's all that really matters.