Customer Reviews

Bite Down Hard

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

1991's Bite Down Hard was the third full-length album from Philadelphia-based rockers Britny Fox. This was the band's first effort following the bitter departure of vocalist Dean Davidson (who formed Blackeyed Susan). Newcomer Tommy Paris joined the band, and the result is probably Britny Fox's strongest, yet least appreciated album.

With Davidson out of the fold, the band ended up relying less on the kind of gravel-voiced screams he used to provide. Paris could scream when necessary, but he had a strong "clean" voice that made the songs on Bite Down Hard go down a lot easier. Ironically, Davidson would drop most of his screaming for the Blackeyed Susan debut Electric Rattlebone, and the result is almost identical to Bite Down Hard. The songs on this album are stronger overall and less gimmicky than the band's previous work. Leadoff single Six Guns Loaded starts things off with a bang (pardon the pun), and features a guest appearance by Ozzy's guitarist Zakk Wylde. Other highlights are the mellow, not-quite-a-ballad Over and Out, Look My Way, and Lonely Too Long, which is a single in the Long Way To Love mold.

The third time should have been the charm for Britny Fox, but by 1991 fewer and fewer people were paying attention to the hair metal scene. It would take another 12 years before the band would issue another studio album.

NOTE: Wounded Bird reissued Bite Down Hard in 2006. Like all Wounded Bird reissues, it has not been digitally remastered, nor does it have any bonus material. It's great to see this forgotten album back in print, but if you already own the 1991 version there's no need to replace it.

well i have the first two b f cd's & dizzy dean just didnt have the throat my ears were dying to hear. along came tommy paris what a screamer! he completly blows away dizzy dean....my favorite track is ....louder... what a great rock n roll song & the new singer just kicks ass, im surprised this cd didnt set the band on fire by the time it did come out it was too late for britny fox. the worst part of britny fox was the hair. michael kelly smith was that a wig or what? the drummer was never to impressive great guitar work & riffs. pounding bass lines.....guitar solos were screaching, some of the best guitar work ive heard. the cd high point the arrival of a new singer.

******************
Track listing:
******************

1. Six Guns Loaded
2. Louder
3. Liar
4. Closer to Your Love
5. Over and Out
6. Shot From My Gun
7. Black and White
8. Look My Way
9. Lonely Too Long
10. Midnight Moses

So very impressed with this "hair band" album! Very well put together tunes and surprisingly heavy!...If you love glam rock turned to glam metal pick this cd up, you won't be sorry!

It took Britny Fox over a year just to find a replacement for Dean Davidson, and another year for this album, their third, to be released. Were the results worth the wait?

Yes. New vocalist Tommy Paris buries Davidson as a metal singer (Davidson, in his element of blues rock, though, is another matter). Britny Fox stuck with what they knew, glam metal, and deliver it with gusto. This album is heavier, and more consistently good than their other albums.

I always felt that Michael Kelly Smith was an underrated guitarist, and I know that drummer Johnny Dee is an excellent drummer (he is a high demand touring drummer). This album expands on the good Boys In Heat, and remains more consistent in its quality.

The production values are hands-down the best of Britny's albums, with Duane Baron and John Purdell bringing manly guitars up in the mix. While Britny's best songs appear on Boys In Heat, this album is overall the better album. The best tracks are Louder, Lonely Too Long, Black and White and Six Guns Loaded.

Well worth the price of a used copy.

HOLY SMOKES !!!This release by Britny Fox is a mouth full. This album rocks with the best of them and should have had tons of radio airplay in its day as well as more recogintion today by 80's rock fans. I would spin it up against almost anything anyone else had to offer including Lynch Mob and XYZ. Yes it rocks that good and that darn hard. If you left Britny Fox out as one of your 80 bands you really screwed the pooch! Forget the Cinderella appearance these guys laid it down harder than Cinderella ever thought to. Im surprised that Cinderella really helped and supported them as well as they did. Philadelphia really is the city of brotherly love huh?
If you can listen to this one without air guitaring, head banging, and wanting to instantly throw a rock n roll party then there is something wrong. Bad Wrong . Darn cool album cover too. I love this cd and Im the TNROCKDOC, rock on! See my list, The Best Rock You Missed !.

Britny Fox's Bite Down Hard was the bands thrid full-length album in three years. Now, most of us 80's hard rock fans know, 1991 was not the most conducive year for a hair metal band to release an album. Britny Fox proved the critics wrong, and released an amazing album that never recieves enough credit.

Bite Down Hard was the first album Britny Fox released after in-fighting had caused the departure of vocalist "Dizzy" Dean Davidson. After the messy break-up, Davidson formed a new band called Black Eyed Susan, which saw Davidson drop his trademark gravel, and infuse a more straight ahead rock vocal. Rather surprising, at the same time, Britny Fox recruited a new front-man in Tommy Paris who sounds quite similar to Davidson with Black Eyed Susan. The result, was a much needed infusion of energy into the band, and creatively Britny Fox released their strongest album to date. Songs Like Six Guns Loaded, Louder, Lonely Too Long and Liar make the album strong, and even the ballads sound energetic and inspired.

This record should have made Britny Fox megastars, however, the story is very different. By 91, nobody cared much about hair metal anymore, and sadly these guys were left by the side of the road. If you don't have this album, go get it!!

I gave this one a chance & found it to be quite a bit better than I expected, may be thier best cd. Hard to compare to the first 2 lps due to a new singer/songwriter in the band. If your curious enough to read this review it's probably safe to say your a fan of thier earlier stuff & I think you'll like this cd too.

I've had this CD for years, but it has languished in the slush pile because whenever I played it, I guess the impression wasn't that good.

Recently I played it again and was quite surprised. Once you strip away the poofy hair, pouty looks, and that sometimes irritating hair metal snare drum sound, you have a band that can actually play.

What struck me right off was an appreciation for the lead singer, who not only plays rhythm guitar, but doesn't go off into high pitched squealing land like a lot of the hair metal singers used to do. With a relatively midrange voice, his vocals actually add to the songs rather than become an irritant.

Some of the songs are not all that memorable, but for the most part, the music is very well played with some good shredding here and there. Some of the typical hair metal clichés can be found in the lyrics and song titles, but after listening to the whole CD again, I didn't find any of that influence overbearing.

For an album thrown almost immediately into the slush pile years ago, it was quite a surprised to hear it again and actually like it. Not bad at all. Recommended.

Cant put my ginger on where they were trying to go with this album, think maybe they thought too much and put no emotion in the album..