By Stephen Kasenda
L.A. GUNS “Waking The Dead” (2002)
2002 is surely a bad year to produce a glam album – who would buy that when nu-metal still ruled the world? But thumbs up to Phil Lewis and the gang, who delivered such a classy release in the midst of a horrible heavy metal year. “Waking The Dead” sees L.A. GUNS trying to revive the sound of their early days, but also attempts to adapt to the current climate, resulting in a 75% classic style and 25% modern touch.
Hits for me here are the opening song, 'Don't Look At Me That Way'; the melodic hard rock of 'Revolution' and 'Lost In The City of Angels'; 'The Ballad' which is quite obvious, is the ballad of this album; the sleazy 'Hellraisers Ball'; and the fast-paced closer, 'Don't You Cry'. 'OK, Let's Roll' and 'Waking The Dead' are okay, the latter has an almost-growl vocal that I believe they’ve never tried before, and 'Frequency' is the worst song here.
I know lots of fans dig this but I also know that much of the 80s generation missed this because they think by 1993 the game was over…but if you can find this record I strongly recommend you buy it. It has those classic punchy riffs, Lewis’ crazy scream, and mostly enjoyable songs. A great criminally-underrated album!
Read more of Stephen’s features at MetalMusicArchives.
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