Customer Reviews

Alive Without Control (Bonus CD) (Dig)

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

 

 

THE BLACK HALOS CONTINUE THEIR LEGACY WITHOUT RICH JONES, AND LET ME SAY, YOU CANT TELL THE DIFFERENCE. THEIR NEW CD, ALIVE WITHOUT CONTROL IS WORTH THE PRICE JUST FOR THE CASE IT COMES IN, CONTAING A BONUS LABEL SAMPLER, STICKER, AND NICE LAYOUT. THE ALBUM ITSELF IS NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING! ALMOST EVERY SONG IS CLASSIC HALOS, WITH A LITTLE BIT OF A TWIST. THE BEST SONGS ON THE ALBUM, DARKEST CORNERS, STUDIO SUFFERING, TIGHT, BROKEN, AND BURNING TRASH. IF YOUR A FAN OF OLD SCHOOL PUNK ROCK, THIS CD IS FOR YOU. FANS ON DEAD BOYS, AND RAMONES WILL REVEL IN THIS CDS BEAUTY. AN INSTANT CLASSIC! (ANYONE WHO LIKES THIS BAND AND HASNT SEEN THEM LIVE, TRUST ME, YOU SHOULD!)

I've read several bad reviews of this record. They all read in the most pretentious of manners labeling it as "uninspired" and "contrived" summing up the Halos as Dead Boys-wannabes. Needless to say, that tripe couldn't have been more wrong. Alive by Control is one of the catchiest and best sounding punk rock records I've heard in years. For starters, the recording quality is excellent. The drums and the bass have that boom to them that give the listener the idea that they are almost hearing the band live. And the songs, well-crafted and perfectly executed, are filled with infectious hooks that demand that the listener sing along.
The raw, unpolished vocals of Billy Hopeless no doubt channel the late Stiv Bators, so the Dead Boys comparisons are a given. But to call the Black Halos Dead Boys-wannabes just isn't fair. It's a put-off, really. They're just a band that really loves that original 1977 punk sound. And that's what wins me over. To tell the truth, the '77 punk sound and style hasn't sounded this alive and vital since...well...1977.