Customer Reviews

10 Minute Warning

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of those rare LP's that totally flies against whats popular in the rock scene at the time. 10 Minute Warning not only had the brass to do this - they released an very good rock album. It makes alot of the younger bands look like 2 chord wannabes.

10 Minute Warning never gained much noterity outside of the Pacific Northwest. However, if you do research on them. Their influence is seen and heard through many modern day Seattle bands.

With the exception of a new vocalist this is the original band. Even Duff McKagan (Ex-Guns N' Roses) is here and performs superbly.

The record is a no BS hard rock effort. Christopher Blue's vocals are great at times. The best tunes on here are "Pictures," "Is this the Way?, and "Swollen Rage." Everything is else is good too. Thats another positive about the album, even the cuts I didn't mention are good. No duds here.

It would be nice to see these guys keep producing. Its nice to see and hear a piece of Northwest music history rise from the ashes and remind us its still ok to rock.

I stumbled across these guys on a punk meets grunge sampler and was so hit with the two songs on the disc I needed more. I'm not a North-Westerner so have no sense of the bands local/regional history or impact but I can tell you that if you are thinking "grunge" you are probably on the wrong track. This is grunge only in the way that early Soundgarden (pre-Superunkown - and their only really great output) can be called "grunge". Duff McKagan and the band rock hard but tightly and Christopher Blue contributes some nice snarling vocals. I've had this for four or five years and still toss it into the CD player when I need a good kick in the rear. "Mezz" and "Is this the way?" are favorite tracks but there is not a miss on the entire disc.

This album is gruff and smoking like a steam train. It sounds like a cross between Guns N Roses (which it should, given Duff's influence) and late punk / early alternative / grunge. All I can say the sound is panoramic and frantic all at once, and may also remind some of Soundgarden or other metal-grunge crossover acts. Although this album was made in 1998, many of the songs were originally written by the band in the early 80's which is what makes the sound when they reformed so interesting. Get if you identify yourself as liking the heavier side of grunge.

I could say that all you need to know about 10 Minute Warning is that they inspired Stone Gossard to learn guitar. These guys had morphed the classic fast, aggresive punk sound into the slower and more powerful grunge before Nirvana and Pearl Jam, before even Mother Love Bone and Green River, they were the first and their influence is still felt around the world today.

But just focusing on their impact on other bands is over looking a really important point: These guys were brilliant in their own right. Every song on here is great, the powerful grinding melodies and strong vocals keep going right through with just enough variation to keep things interesting. There simply isn't a bad song on here.

And if all that isn't enough its also an essential insight into what Duff McKagan was doing both before and after Guns N' Roses, making it a must-have for all GNR fans.

Anyone that likes the harder edge of rock needs this record. Nothing flashy, nothing trendy (thankfully), and nothing but a great rock-n-roll record. This is one of those records that you can listen to in its entirety. No skipping around on this one. You can leave it in the disc player and even after the second or third play, it doesn't get old or tired. I've had this disc for about 2 years and still listen to it pretty frequently. A must have disc. Hopefully this is not a one shot record from these guys.

Though TMW comes from Seattle, these guys don't exactly fall into the category of "grunge." They sound more like punk. Anyway, it's very good music; I loved it after 2 listens. Every song has it's own unique appeal, and that makes this a CD I'll still love 20 years from now. I have not had a chance to hear what the original TMW vocalist sounded like, but Christopher Blue is absolutely stunning!

BTW : the name "Ten Minute Warning" comes from a college binge drinking game. The game goes like this: Every minute for ten minutes you take one shot of beer. But here's the catch. The first minute you take one shot of beer, the second minute you take two shots of beer, the third minute you take a three shots of beer and so on.
However, I've also heard some people say the name signifies the "ten minute warning" a city is given before a nuclear missile hits it.

I don't know which is true, but both whichever--it's a cool band name with a cool origin.