Bullet Boys, Elefante

It never ceases to amaze me that the rock bands I knew of in the late 80s/early 90s are back and have new CDs.  They include but certainly are not limited to Autograph, Faster Pussycat, W. A. S. P., and Enuff Z 'Nuff.

Then, in spite of many changes in band members in that same span of time, we still have the Bullet Boys.

One thing is for sure:  Marq Torien nails it in showing the rock music world he still has it. His voice maintains the steadiness and strength in all of the eleven songs of Elefante.



The first thing I had to do is not think--and I am relaying this message to you--about the Bullet Boys we knew back in the day.  Expect a different sound.

The CD starts off with a great rocker called "Rollover."  I can wallow around all day in that old school-style rock.  What a great start to the CD!

Where I really felt the Bullet Boys vibe was in "The Villain."  The bass especially kept the song going.  So a big kudos to Chad MacDonald for that.

There is a bit of humility and sentimentality in their music--right in the middle, to be exact.  Where is it found?  In "Kin Folk."  What makes it great?  The soulful backup vocals.

"Symphony" starts off with a pop sound that is too strong for my taste. With the alternating pop and rock sounds, it left me confused.  It wasn't its own symphony to my ears.  However, the backup vocals saved the song.

Where I felt like they were gravitating toward the pop end of things was in "As Dumb As." Aside from the title possessing the same cadence as Was Not Was, the tone of the song made it sound like today's Top 40 music.

The Bullet Boys sound has always been compared to AC/DC and Van Halen.  I will add another one to that list:  Slaughter.  When I heard the end of "Tsunami" and "Drop Your Weapon," I couldn't help thinking of such hits as "Eye to Eye," "Up All Night" and "Out for Love."  Guys,please consider this a compliment, because when I hear their albums, I hear new things each time in those absolutely wild intros and outros.

How I would describe Elefante, in a nutshell:  Some great rock moments, some great pop moments. It's more or less hit and miss.  In time, I know this CD will grow on me.  If it happened to me when I first heard Heart's Little Queen, from hearing Bad Animals back around 1987, I know the same will happen when it comes to Elefante.