Ice Vajal :: Music Land :: Metal World
 
editorial :: feedback :: newsletter ::  
   Bands :: A-Z / S / Sideburn /

On disc: Sideburn



Jail - Claudia Ehrhardt - 8 stars
Gasoline - Claudia Ehrhardt - 8 stars
Electrify - Claudia Ehrhardt - 7 stars


www.sideburn.ch







Electrify

Electrify
(AOR Heaven - 2013)


Swiss hard rockers Sideburn are back with a new album, Electrify. The opener Bite The Bullet shows their love AC/DC and that kind of pub rock. Nobody can miss the title as it's repeated way too often. But well. the next in line is Devil May Care, it's pretty much like the opener. A nice change is Black Powder, coz the band slows down and adds a dash sleaze to it. I prefer the songs where Sideburn add a little flavor to the AC/DC-like rock, so songs like Never Get Down and Bad Reputation, a Southern heavy rock tune, are more up my alley. Unfortunately there aren't too many of the others - and you have to like Roland Pierrehumbert's voice. Towards the end the present two songs which were recorded live in 2012 - Lazy Daisy and Never Kill The Chicken. The closer is called Rockstar, a track which was written for Addidas Rockstar event which Sideburn played in August 2012 in Stuttgart. It's decent album, but as with most pub rock stuff I miss variety, but that's me. If you love pub rock, then get the new Sideburn!


7 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

up








Gasoline

Gasoline
(AOR Heaven - 2013)


Swiss hard rockers Sideburn are preparing their new studio album and to shorten the time til it get's in stores they re-release their 2003 album Gasoline. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the album and to present the new line-up they added three bonus tracks which were recorded in 2012 in Annecy (France).

The opener Baby Don't Care is a bit repetitive, but the title track which follows the opener is another story. The up-tempo rocker is based on a staccato riff and comes with a kind of gang shout chorus, spoken words and a Southern rock influenced guitar. Very nice!

A slower tune is Walls Of Shame and once more it's the guitars which gives the song something special. Gangster Love is a boogie-based rocker with the typical late 80's / early 90's backing vocals. At Black Sheep Sideburn create a Whitesnake-ish atmosphere mixed with a boogie... They stay on this track for awhile, but with Never Kill The Chicken they add a new flavor to Gasoline, this one has a Southern rock edge and the harmonica gives it a country feel. The fast Boots For Hire is the last tune at the original release, but the live versions give an idea about the development of the band. The first tune is Slave To The Core, a song which fits to the Gasoline tunes. The fast Crocodile is more interesting, the reminds me slightly of Van Halen guitar-wise. But what I miss the live feeling, this could be live recordings from the studio. The last live track is the boogie-based rocker Get That Way.

Fans of boogie-based hard rock who discovered the Swiss more recently will surely like to get the anniversary release. If you have the original release in your collection you have to make up your mind, I can't give you guidance. At the end of the day Gasoline is a pretty decent piece of work.


8 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

up








Jail

Jail
(Metal Heaven - 2011)


The Swiss band Sideburn was started in 1986 under the moniker Genocide. In 1997 they renamed and since then work under the label Sideburn. Musically they are offering AC/DC sound, but singer Roland Pierrehumbert sounds more like Bon Scott then Brian Johnson. Songs like the opener Live To Rock sound familiar and you can sing along right away. At Devil And Angel the vocals remind me a bit of Stephen Pearcy.... One Night Stand is a typical blues rock track with cliche lyrics, but nobody expect sophisticated lyrics from a band with this sound. At other songs they sound a bit like their fellow countrymen Krokus. Chase The Rainbow sticks out a bit due to the balladesque opening part, but becomes a blues rocker - with a dash of Southern rock. Songs like The Red Knight base on the AC/DC riffing, but at least Sideburn can add something to it and give the song their own identity - as much as it's possible.
Fans of the Aussie sound should check out Sideburn, personally I'm not a huge fan of this style, but I enjoyed Jail more then the Airbourne releases. If you are into the Aussie sound, then check out Sideburn!


8 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

           ©2008-2015 by Claudia Ehrhardt • E-Mail: contact@ice-vajal.com


Bands S