Customer Reviews

Hellacious Acres

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

 

 

I listened to these guys first album and I thought it was alright. For some reason I put off listening to this album for a while; probably a fear of disappointment. What I got when I finally heard this album was hard hittin Hair Metal at its finest. Pretty much every song on here is good, some better than others. Gunfighter, Gimme' No Lip, Sticks and Stones, Line 'Em Up, and Gypsy (Black-N-Blue Valentine) are the best songs on here. The major downfall of this album is the cover of Feel Like Makin' Love. I don't even like the original version very much. Best of Friends didn't fit too well with me either.

Even with that, the album still rocks. Sticks and Stones should be the anthem of all real rock fans. It's too bad that more people do not know about this album.

In my opinion this album is better than the debut.
It's has a dirty rock'n roll feel which the debut only showed signs of.
1. Gunfighter - So good. No better way to start an album
2. Gimme No Lip - Outstanding rocker
3. Stick & Stones - Excellent. Great riffs and raw attitude.
4. Best Of Friends - Good ballad.
5. On Top - Great riff. This song oozes with sex & Rock'n Roll. About a girl who likes it on top, if you get it.
6. Sugar, Leather & The Nail - One of my favs. Greatest chorus ever.
7. Angel NU - Some other reviews here kinda bashed this song. I have to say that this bluesy beast is perhaps the most impressive. Great solos. It's a bit different than the other songs on the album.
8. Feel Like Makin' Love - Bad Company cover. They do it justice.
9. Line 'em Up - This was one of the singles from the album. Not my fav, but very catchy.
10. Gypsy (Black 'n Blue Valentine) - The most polished song. Not bad, but one of the best.
11. Bad Guy - Good, rockin' to the point. Concludes the most underrated album by the most underrated band.Buy it.

I've read all the reviews for this album, and I am very disgusted by people's comments on this album. I'm going to set the record straight. This is one of the very BEST of Dangerous Toys albums that they ever released. Everyone seems to point to thier self titled debut, but, except for "Scared" and "Ten Boots", and "Feels Like a Hammer", that album, well just FLOPS! But Hellacious Acres is an incredible album and begins with the amazing Gunfighter and runs like a melodic and heavy freight train right on through. I will admit that there are 2 very distinct low points on this album, in the form of "Sugar, Leather, and the Nail" and "Angel N U" but this is still worth more than your bargain bin, it is a damn superb record that I cannot keep of my disc-man or from blasting out of my computer speakers. I'm not sure if this will get printed, but I so TOTALLY DISAGREE with Eric Reifschneider, who writes an article for this site called Dangerous Toys..The Downhill Voyage of a band..I think he's got his list very backwards cause from the unimpressive debut, the band only gets stronger, right up to The Rtist 4 merly known As..the heaviest and strongest ,in terms of musicianship, record of them all. The guy needs to look at these albums a little closer. So top picks are Gunfighter (might just be the best song I've ever heard in my life..and believe me that covers ALOT of ground!), Sticks and Stones, one of the best ballads, and truest to hearts in Best of Friends, Line 'Em Up, Gypsy and of course the spectacular closing Bad Guy. Oh yeah, and for some reason every naysayer seems to gloss over DT's AWESOME cover of a less than tolerable original, I'm speaking of Feel Like Makin' Love. DTs version should BE the original. Its damn good and has breathed new life into that old song. This album just amazed me I had to order it in, and took forever and it was well worth the wait. GET IT, after you get this one, get 1994's PISSED and then get 1995's RTIST..you wont be sorry!! But of course everyone has a right to thier own opinion..and mine is, this album is the one of the very best of the 80s, in 1991! Enjoy! 9/11

The Self titled cd Rocked! This cd just picked up where the first left off as far as I am concerned. I lived in Ft. Worth Texas back in 1988-1991 when the Toys where out playing live all the time. They just stomped the house down at every show I went to. Heavy guitar, awesome attitude from McMaster on the vocals, this band did it right. There 3rd release was a bit of a dissapointment to me, only in the fact that it wasn't perfect like the first two, but it still rocked hard. The 4th release to me was a change to their style that I didn't care for, and I think they lost alot of followers. It did have a couple of songs you could identify as Toys, but most of the cd was a darker grunge sound, and they lost their heavy blue bad boy roots. All in all, Dangerous Toys has a very distinct sound, a sound no other band could match, and especially the first two cd's, there isn't anything a hard rock metalhead can do except turn it up and shake the walls with that Texas Stomp!

I have a hard time putting this ahead of the first DT album, I know it seems to outshine it in places and expands a bit like on a song like "Angel In You", but it just misses. Doesn't really matter both CD's are very good, and this one is even heavier than the debut and the songs are just as catchy and have a real bright anthem like quality to them like "Sticks And Stones", and "Sugar Leather, and the Nail" which I like the best on here. "Best Of Friends" is a nice song that has a very good feel to it, and i also absolutely Love the cover of "Feel Like Makin' Love", the vocal delivery on this song to me outshine the original...probably because I prefer the heavier version first and foremost, but Jason just owns this song. It reminds me of how Badlands did a cover of "Fire And Rain" from around this time and it was just so much brighter and heavy and breathes new life into the song(s).

This one overall perhaps leans more toward really good hard rock with less emphasis on the southern boogie infused into it, or maybe it's just the heavyness in places that overshadows it...for whatever reason I find it is just a bit less pronounced. There are the rave ups like "Gimme No Lip", and "Gunfighter" all you have to do is read the titles and you get the attitude...those are rockers for sure.

D. Toys struck gold with their great debut record & would eventually strike twice with "Hellacious Acres" garnering the band another gold record. Yet, there are some problems with this disc & their debut is certainly better. It's a well-known fact that the band was pulled off the road in order to be rushed back into the studio to capitalize on their initial success. And it shows!

"On Top" was a lackluster attempt at another "Sport'N A Woody." "Best of Friends" was a cheesy, yet heartfelt, ballad. "Sticks & Stones," "Gypsy (Black-N-Blue Valentine," & "Bad Guy" are just not well-done & shoulda been tossed. And covering Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love" was just a bad idea. So, all in all, 1/2 the record was just a drag.

However, "Gunfighter," "Gimme No Lip," "Sugar, Leather & the Nail," & "Angel N U" are great! Not just good. Great!!! D. Toys fans will still want to buy this record. And it's worth buying. Even if it underwhelmes you. Because there are enough good songs to keep it interesting. And more great cover art by Tommy Pons is always a plus. Not as good as their first record. Not a great record. But solid enough to make it worth your hard-earned cash.

GUNFIGHTER IS COOL, SO IS STICKS AND STONES, GIMME NO LIP, AND GYPSY,BUT THE TRUTH IS THIS CD EVEN THOUGH TOOK TWO YEARS TO COME OUT AFTER THE DEBUT, SOUNDS A BIT RUSHED AND AT TIMES TOO CHEESY. THE FIRST CD IS AN ALLTIME CLASSIC. IT IS DIRTIER, MEANIER, AND SLEAZIER AND WORTH CHECKING OUT. HELLACIOUS ACRES COULD WAIT FOR THE SALES BIN.

...this album stinks. I bought it while working in the USA and the first track (Gunfighter) was sharp, catchy, and typical 80's metal. Great! Then I had the misfortune of listening to the rest of the material on the album. Sadly, this ends up being like much of Slaughter's work - characterized by poor songwriting and even poorer guitar playing. Many of the earlier bands do this kind of thing justice. Don't waste your money on this, but instead go out and buy any album by Axel Rudi Pell, or anything pre-1990 by Y & T. Much better.

After purchasing their debut album the first time I saw the video for "Teasin' Pleasin'" way back in 1989, I became a Dangerous Toys fan for life. Yeah I'm 29, but I still rock. Hellacious Acres would top that release hands down. Gunfighter,the best song of their career, Sticks and Stones, On Top, and Bad Guy, show Dangerous Toys at their rocking best. Best of Friends is a great ballad that really tugs at your heart strings being that it is about the death of a friend of the band. The only two throw aways on this album are Gimme No Lip and Angel N U. And the band does a decent cover of Bad Company's Feel Like Making Love. Buy this album. You won't be sorry.

This one has a good driving beat to it. A slightly different sound than some of their peers. Check it out if you like aor metal, the debut kick as well.