Whitesnake Roars Back With 'Good To Be Bad'
It's only April, but Whitesnake has laid down the marker for the best hard rock record of the year; anyone wanting the crown will have to top this excellent effort, the band's first new studio album in 11 years.
The masters of melodic metal, led by frontman David Coverdale, have brought back old-school power rock - heavy enough to satisfy the headbanger within, but catchy enough to embed the song in your brain.
The band's ever-changing lineup now sports the twin guitar attack of Doug Aldrich (Dio) and Reb Beech (Alice Cooper, Dokken, Winger), and both play with speed, ferocity and melody. From the opening riffs of "Best Years" to the title track and the fast-paced rocker "Got What You Need," the pair perfectly complement Coverdale's wails.
The best track is "Lay Down Your Love," the closest thing to a metal mash-up of Whitesnake classics "Slow And Easy" and "Still of The Night." The latter track is particularly evident here, from the bump-and boogie riff that shimmies, then pauses for Coverdale's vocals, to the subdued, mid-tonal middle.
Other appropriations include the ballad "All I Want, All I Need," which evokes the power ballad "Is This Love?" Close your eyes, and you'll soon imagine Tawny Kitean and her little white dress from the memorable 1987 video. And the catchy "All For Love" cops the main riff from the Kansas classic "Carry On Wayward Son."
"'Til The End Of Time" closes the album on a note reminiscent of mid-'70s acoustic Led Zeppelin, and even finishes with a "Kashmir" riff.
All in all, this is proof that even though long in the tooth, Whitesnake still has fangs.
Check out this track: Did you like Whitesnake's biggest-ever hit, "Still Of the Night" in 1987? Well, you'll love it here again in 2008 with "Lay Down Your Love." VERY similar riff and vocal patterns tie these two tracks closely together. Hey, you go with what works . . .
LIVE: Airbourne Save Rock 'N' Roll 
Monday April 07, 2008 @ 03:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff
April 5, 2008
Mod Club Theatre
Toronto, ON
By Keith Carman
Rock 'n' roll is reverting to its roots and Warrnambool, Australia's Airbourne are heading the charge.
When '80s-inspired rockers The Darkness charged forth from the sweaty pubs of England a few years back, beer-drinkin', hell-raisin' goons smelled that the time of air guitars, tight jeans and leather jackets was once again here. Could you blame us? Thanks to years of pampered gits suckishly emoting and pretending to be "rock," it was the best we had.
Yet The Darkness and their blues-soaked riffs proved to be little more than a flash-in-the-pan mostly due to chemically overindulgence and showboating/ridiculous outfits. They had the staying power of a virgin in an Iranian harem.
Thankfully, we have Airbourne. This band's brand of simplified riffs, no-frills stage show and obvious adoration of fellow Aussie rockers AC/DC and Rose Tattoo — not to mention Thin Lizzy — has given rockers a true saviour to worship in lieu of our Darkness darkness. These guys move past the glitter, and back to the bare-bones delivery of '70s rock, a time when four chords, a lot of Jack Daniels and Marshall amplifiers cranked to 10 (Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel had yet to boost them to 11 at this point) were all that was required to deliver a bona fide anthemic performance.
This is exactly what Airbourne achieved at the sold-out Mod Club. Loud, lewd and like younger Motorhead kin, Airbourne's performance was effective in its simplicity. Performing the lion's share of tracks from their debut Roadrunner Records release Runnin' Wild guitarist/singer Joel O'Keeffe, brother/drummer Ryan, guitarist David Roads and bassist Justin Street savaged the miniscule stage, prancing around as if their inner child had learned to repossess the 20-something body it endured.
Tearing through "Stand Up For Rock 'N' Roll," "Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast," "Diamond In The Rough" and the album's title track, Joel's best impersonation of obvious influence/hero Bon Scott was as raspy and booze-soaked as the legendary screamer could have mustered during his finest moment. Flanked by equipment and head-banging cohorts, there was nary an inch of stage left free of action, creating an almost chaotic environment. Yet Joel's cool, friendly confidence prevailed. To be fair, the music wasn't the only blinding element during an hour-plus of crunchy guitars and rock-steady drum beats. Airbourne accented their performance with more lights than an airport runway.
Finishing off the night with two booming encores and endless applause, Airbourne proved that less can be more, especially when solid songs are the foundation. Furthermore, the performance reiterated to the world that while those yearning for something more substantial than whiny crooning may have made a moderate misstep by clinging onto The Darkness, this quartet are poised to bring us back to rock 'n' roll's glory days.