Drama Queen Die is basically Andrew Walker, since he is guitarist, vocalist and songwriter in
Drama Queen Die. On the self-titled debut album Andrew has hired hot shots Chip Z'Nuff and Ricky Parent, both of Enuff Z'Nuff fame, to handle bass and drums. A clever "thing" since Chip and Ricky are solid players and also their involvement provides attention among the press - myself included.
This CD is marked at the audience who still loves the 80's Hard Rock, also named Hairbands. Personally I think it's cool with a CD released in 2004, but sounding like it was done in the late 80's. A lot of good stuff dominated the records back then and Andrew Walker has continued some of these elements. Overall this record is a party record, which puts you in a good mood.
The album has 3 really strong songs, which are in another league than the rest of the material. These songs should really appeal to every Hard Rock fan. The below mentioned songs have been stuck in my head for the last 6 weeks and still they sound as fresh and fantastic when I hear them. In general the 80's Hard Rock is timeless because it's about having a good time and that never goes out of fashion.
Drama Queen Die opens the record like thunder and lightning. Ricky Parent and Chip lays down a perfect beat to Andrew's vocals and furthermore Andrew spices the song with some cool artificial harmonics. The title track rocks big time and will satisfy any 80's Hard Rock fan. Andrew Walker is a skilled guitarist as well and the solo on this track underlines his skills.
Die In Vain has a cool signature riff. Andrew Walker's voice has a tone of vintage Jon
Bon Jovi. The keyboard and the lyrics on
Die in Vain bring out more
Bon Jovi references.
Die in Vain is the troubled story of Tammy and it is counterpart to
Bon Jovi's
Livin on a Prayer dealing with Gina and Tommy's problems. It has a great hookline and fabulous chorus.
Beautiful is a great emotional ballad with some cool love lyrics. Andrew sings fantastic on this and you can really hear the rasp in his expressive voice, when he belts out the emotional lyrics.
Beautiful is in every aspect the right name for this song.
The 3 above songs are really brilliant, which are impossible to top. However, overall there are plenty of good songs on the album. Another favorite is the sing-along rocker
Whatever Happened To Rock-n-Roll, which has a great melody line. Andrew sings a bit cruel on the verse but goes total melodic on the chorus.
Raw guitars dominate
One Way Or Another. Europeans can learn from the lyrics that everything indeed is cheaper in the US, since Andrew mentions a 5-cent whore. Another guitar anthem is
Afraid Of Love. Both songs keep the 80's Hard Rock banner flying and both are well penned.
The draw down on the album is the sappy ballad
Where Are You Now, which has a too sweet and sappy chorus. The riff of
Little Girl hits the 80's style just perfect. The chorus is a bit too primitive though.
Wasted is a standard bonus track, while
Naperville is an okay acoustic song with some personal lyrics.
All in all I love the raw 80's sound on the guitar. There is plenty of great songs on this album and few standard rockers. Overall the album is entertaining, has cool guitars, vocals and filled with hooks. Good music never goes out of style.
Written by
Michael Thursday, April 8, 2004
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