Customer Reviews

Into the Now

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Into The Now, a CD that is full of incredibly well written songs that any rock n roll fan would love.

The band breaks into the album's heaviest and most modern track to open the album. Into The Now certainly let's listeners know where the band is at. The track features dark and heavy guitar riffs and a deeper than usual rasp from vocalist Jeff Keith. The chorus doesn't break the sonic attack at all. It's relatively short, but effective. There isn't any big guitar solos, but rather some production effects and vocal filters used mid-song. All very effective and cleverly done to prove Tesla can update and remain cool.

Look @ Me kicks off and closes with the same snappy guitar/drum beat. The guitars aren't quite as tuned down as the title track, but remain heavy and pack a punch. The chorus remains short, but is more typical of what we expect from Tesla.

What A Shame is even closer to the classic sound of the band's past. The chorus is stronger than either of the opening tracks and the song features that unmistakable electric/acoustic hybrid the band is famed for.

Heaven Nine Eleven changes the pace of the album nicely. This is a dark and groovy hard rocker with a strong hint of the classic Tesla sound, just heavier. Things are varied up a little by the use some vocal effects during the chorus and a perfect build in intensity to the heavy chorus break. This track is another great example of the band updating their sound and using cleaver production techniques to blend the old with the new.

Words Can't Explain could be lifted from just about any of the band's past albums, given that's its acoustic driven with a riff-heavy chorus. The song builds and gets heavier as it goes and is really one for the old die-hards.

Caught In A Dream is a really enjoyable acoustic ballad with a big chorus hook.

Miles Away is an interesting track. It clocks in over 6 minutes and is a lyrically touching track utilizing an acoustic verse, before launching into a heavy guitar riff bridge. Another musically intelligent and interesting track.

Mighty Mouse is a straight ahead rocker.

Got No Glory is one of the album's heaviest tracks. Featuring a killer guitar riff, the song isn't one of the more melodic, relying more on the impact of those guitar riffs.

Come To Me is another acoustic driven, laid back number with a good chorus hook. While it is acoustic driven, it's another track that sounds new and features a great lead vocal.

Recognize is another darker and heavier track, even if the tempo is pretty slow. The song has a bridge-chorus set up, where the tempo picks up, with an aggressive guitar riff.

Only You closes the album with another new twist. This is an all acoustic track with strings and a truly haunting feel.

One feels a sense of satisfaction when reaching the end of the album. It's a fan pleaser despite challenging the listener to grow with the band. Some fans may take longer to warm to the new sound, while others will grab it enthusiastically first time around.

It rocks hard, is very well written and perfectly produced.

Into The Now really is a great example of a classic band moving into the present, but without abandoning what is expected of them - their classic sound.

Of course the group Tesla is perhaps my all time favorite rock group and the album happens to be their first studio recording in ten years, an album entitled Into the Now.

So what do we have here? Yes, it's the old Tesla sound from fifteen years ago and it sounds wonderful. In my previous review of Tesla's classic 1989 recording The Great Radio Controversy I stated that Tesla "was basically Pop-metal sort of a cross between Guns and Roses and Tom Petty. Tesla also benefited from the very unusual sound of vocalist Jeff Keith. His voice was gravely and high pitched and couldn't have fit the music better." I still think this is an appropriate description, so I'll stick with it.

So is it a good album? You bet, Tesla should never have disappeared. They were mistakenly considered a Hair Band and faded with the advent of Grunge, but their new music sounds both the same as fifteen years ago and current. At least to me, a testament that they should have always have been here.

But is it a great album? Well here's the rub. It's no Great Radio Controversy but hardly anything is. Into the Now is a prototypical, Tesla album, heavy, melodic, focused, and understated. Songs like "Into the Now", "What @ Shame", "Come to Me", "Recognize" and "Miles Away" are some of the best they have done and I like "Heaven Nine Eleven" as good as anything they have done. I guess I might say that Into the Now is almost but not quite a great album

My conclusion is succinct. If you are not familiar with Tesla you might want to check them out. After all they were one of the bigger bands in the late eighties and early nineties and in fact were considered by many, the musicians band. What do I mean by that? They were the band that many musicians said they listened to and enjoyed.

To you who are familiar with Tesla, although this is not what I would call an essential album, there is some great material that makes this a very worthwhile acquisition.

Similar Artists

Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Guns and Roses, Great White Aerosmith, Rolling Stones

Tesla's "Into The Now" is a great album. Yes, album, I say my friends. An album the likes of which one listens to from start to finish. Like Pete Townsend's "Empty Glass", Rush's "Permanant Waves", Beatles' "Abby Road", The Stone's "Black and Blue", Van Halen I , to name a few. And, when it's over, you play it again, and again. Do I have the nerve to elevate this record to that status? Yes, I do. Why? Because it's a hard rock classic in an era of mostly crap. It will never get the mass air play it deserves. If you are reading this, you're probably no stranger to Tesla. Make no mistake, it's a monumental effert of great hooks, song writing, and in your face rock n roll. Buy it.

Tesla has always struck me as a band that, in spite of emerging at the wrong time, still had enough chops to rise above the garbage that was the mid 80s "Hair Band" marketing blitz. If Tesla showed up in the late 70s to say 1982, they would've never had to bear the burden of MTV's hair nation. The band has always shown top notch musical capabilities and excellent songwriting skills. Their accoustical shows of the early 90s exemplified their ability to play outside of the box and proved that they were musicians capable of more than producer/studio driven nonsense that record companies pound out like aluminum cans when they think they've got a new revenue stream. But enough of that, onto the present day.

Tesla returns years later with a very nice recording that once again shows that they are still worthy of putting out new music. Released on the Sanctuary label ( a haven for so many acts from the past). "Into The Now" shows a mature band staying somewhat true to what it has always done, while at the same time adapting to the mood of the current music scene. Reference Scorpions and "Unbreakable" as another example of this. There is enough of everything for everyone with "Into The Now", that no one should truly be disappointed with the tracks on this record. Jeff's vocals are every bit the Jeff of old and while the band has given way to some of the solo indulgence that permeated the 80s, they are still dialed into every song they play with the precision of a band who knows and enjoys what they're doing and isn't pressured to deliver a certain sound.

I'm uncertain as to how many units this release has sold to date, but it certainly has proven that this band deserves to have another effort released and remain exposed to the public at large. While it won't be a rejuvination to the extent of Aerosmith in the late 80s, it certainly would compliment acts like Alice Cooper and the aforementioned Scorpions both of whom continue to deliver quality music at the later stages of their careers.

(I'll probably lose all credibility here, but I LIKE the song "Mighty Mouse"...kinda has a Bad Company-esque stomp to it, and it sounds pretty damn good with the volume up. Thought I'd mention that off the bat, in case you want to skip the rest of this review...heh)

Anyway, Into the Now is a solid comeback album from Tesla, their first since 1994's Bust A Nut. In fact, some of my younger friends who missed Tesla the first time around actually prefer this CD over the majority of today's "modern" rock radio. For that reason, it's reasonable to say it's more than a nostalgia album...the music stands on its own, eras notwithstanding. My only negative is that there's not as much variance with the tempos as their other albums. Pretty much all the tracks, rockers or ballads, move at a nearly identical pace. It woulda been nice to include a breakneck song or two to make a few heads spin, but the bottom line is the music still prevails. The Tesla sound is still there, but instead of resting on their laurels & pumping out retreads from 1986, they moved ahead into the 21st century. I for one like the "atmospheric" approach they took with the guitar playing on Into the Now...gives the album some interesting depth IMO.

I'm not gonna say anyone's gonna forget about Psychotic Supper or Mechanical Resonance after hearing ITN, but nevertheless it's a satisfying Tesla release...

Like many quality bands rising up during this era (late 80's, early 90's), Tesla has not gotten their just rewards for pumping out quality hard rock. I was expecting a release a little heavier based upon the reviews I read, but was rewarded with the trademark Tesla quality. The writing is a pure joy, and the songs intelligent, uplifting, and give a great positive vibe to the accompanying music.

Young fans of "so called (emo-screamo) hard rock" will not appreciate the sheer competence of this music. Additionally, Tesla is a very mature band with soul, you will not hear uncontrolled angst in the music. The music is interesting; very heavy in spots, such as in a number of the beginning parts of the songs, choruses and bridges, yet melodic during many of the verses.

The vocals are trademark Tesla perfect, not missing a step since "Mechanical Resonance" in 1986, and the guitar work is excellent, though there were not as many lead breaks as I was hoping for. All in all, a very enjoyable, well thought out, cohesive piece of music. I hope Tesla is back to stay!

Simply put, this is probably the best piece of work to come from one of the so called "hair bands" in the last 10 years. I thank Tesla for keeping the spirit alive.

First of all I have to mention that I am a big fan of hard rock music or glam music whatever you want to call it, and I have special feelings for Motley Crue, Mr. Big, Firehouse, Bon Jovi and obviously Tesla, and it is sad that these bands from the 80's are not around anymore therefore we have to listen to poor music such a 50 Cents and that crap, but as usual there are band that are still trying to give us great music and so it happens with Tesla's new album Into The Now.

It is great to have such an excellent band back, and it seems they didn't leave, the music is incredible, Jeff voice's still amazing, and to my opinion this is one of their best albums (such as Psychotic Supper), they have return with more energy, great riffs, but keeping the essence of what Tesla has become through the years and what makes them one of the best band of the 80's that is why the opened for Motley Crue.

They have amazing songs on this album such as into the now, caught in a dream, look @ me, what a shame; the first seven songs of the album are amazing don't get me wrong I love the whole album except for Mighty Mouse it doesn't seem to fit this album.

So if you love this kind of rock it's a must for all of you such as for all the Tesla's fans, you won't regret it

I can also recommend the new album of Firehouse "Primetime", it is a great album too give it a shot

Are the 80's are coming back?? Hopefully we miss those Bands... Let's kick again

I bought this album with a fair degree of skepticism. Could Tesla release an album that compared favorably to their past work and yet build on it? My fears were erased when I heard the odd-timed, slamming riff of "Into The Now", complete with what has to be Tesla's heaviest guitar sound to date.

"Look @ Me" has a verse riff that is arrogant, powerful, and heavy all at once, but also uses an acoustic guitar to add texture in the chorus. "Come To Me" and "Got No Glory" are welcome additions to the Tesla cannon. The former is a bouncy, optimistic acoustic ditty with some great dynamics and strong vocals from Jeff Keith. The latter contains one of the heaviest guitar riffs that Frank Hannon has ever come up with and compels you to headbang along.

Not all the songs are terrific, though. "Recognize" is in the same drop-D vein as "Got No Glory" but doesn't quite take off. And although "Mighty Mouse" has a very Zeppelin-esque riff going for it, a song that references Mighty Mouse and Underdog in the chorus over that sort of merciless guitar assault is going to come across a little silly (it *does* grow on you, though).

"Into The Now" continues a trend that 1994's "Bust A Nut" started; the guitar histrionics of Hannon and Tommy Skeoch are toned down a notch. You will not hear Skeoch's zany whammy bar antics or Hannon's fast, fluent legato runs on this album. However, the guitar orchestration of this album is reminiscent of "The Great Radio Controversy" and is more textured than either "Psychotic Supper" or "Bust A Nut". Acoustics and electrics merge into a wall of sound, making tracks like "Caught In A Dream", "Miles Away", and "Words Can't Explain" that much more effective. Tesla, out of all the so-called "hair metal" bands to emerge from the 80's, has an ear for dynamics and have always focused on solid songwriting.

Honestly, this record will likely not sell all that well in today's homogenized music scene. But "Into The Now" is a slightly flawed yet honest record that deserves to be heard. It is better than 95% of the tripe that's on FM radio today. Pick up a copy today.

Tesla to me has always been a great rock.They have their own great sound and most always put out a solid effort.Their new cd "Into the Now",is another chapter in the history of great Tesla albums.While a good part of the cd is some of the hardest Tesla ever,the band does stick to their roots on such songs as "Come to me",an upbeat accoustic song that screams old school Tesla.Meanwhile songs such as the first track "Into the Now",feature some of the hardest guitars ever heard on a Tesla cd.While I do agree with a previous reviewer that none of the songs really reach out and grab you(at least chorus wise),the reviewer who said this was Godsmack with Jeff Keith on vocals,needs to listen to more Godsmack or get off whatever drugs he is on!There is not a Tesla song or a Godsmack song that sound anything alike.Besides Tesla are much more talented than Godsmack could dream of being!