Joining the legendary
Savatage on their Dio/Megadeth tour in 1987 at the age of 20,
Chris Caffery was first relegated to a spot behind the stage curtain playing rythm guitar to spice up the sound. Much has happened since then and today he has grown to be a full blown singer, songwriter and highly proficient guitarist. Faces is his debut solo album and proves that there is room for
Chris Caffery, the solo artist in the world of Heavy Metal. Carving out a niche for himself somewhere in between Megadeth,
Savatage and Doctor Butcher, Caffery's music hits hard and is filled with energy. The songs are personal and conveyed in a convincing way.
Handling both vocals and guitar as well as writing duties himself, Chris puts his talent to good use. Faces is very much a personal project and this also shines through in the lyrics which deal with inner turmoil and go through every emotion from anger to heartache. Not to neglect the other members of the band as they do a fine job indeed. Jeff Plate on drums, Dave Z on bass and Paul Morris on keyboard and piano are the solid backbone of the band.
On this trip through the mind of
Chris Caffery you will meet many well known emotions and right from the start you will not be in doubt that he means business. The hectic opener
Faces is a real smack in the face and will leave you gasping for breath, wondering what Chris was going through when he wrote that song. Commenting the absolute highlights of the album first,
Pisses me off has got to be the funniest song of the year. After the short guitar intro which I find myself humming along to every time, the song goes into a monster heavy riff and never turns back. Chris pulls off this tongue in cheek song with a lot of intensity and gets his opinion across with a fine pinch of irony (Including burping and mooing, man I love this song!). A well written and extremely cool song that raises many of life's important questions.
The ultra cool
Bag O'Bones is a nice diversion from the other songs and another personal highlight. It has a great flow and unique atmosphere. The other acoustic song,
Music Man is also a good song with some very well written lyrics.
The best thing about Caffery's voice is that it has charisma. It is good at conveying feelings of anger and aggression, but songs like
Never and
So far today show that it can do more than that.
So far today is highly relateable and Chris succeeds in both the vocal and guitar department, creating an almost devastating atmosphere of longing. The guitar work in
Never also shows how much a wide awake guitar can enhance a song.
Remember and
The fall (great guitar work in this one) are good songs, but miss something that can take them to the same level as the before mentioned.
Life, crazy life!!! is my least favorite song and I feel like it never takes off, mostly due to the monotone chorus. The album goes through a slight slump after
Pisses me off, but the last half of the album more than makes up for this. You will know it when the aggressive
The mold strikes you down. The album also saves some of the really good stuff for last, but I will let you discover that yourself.
Needless to say the guitar work on the album is spendid and I would never have doubted that, knowing that Chris spent time with the master himself, Criss Oliva. As he proved at this years ProgPower festival, if there is one guy to carry on the legacy of Criss Oliva, then
Chris Caffery is that guy.
Faces is an album that does need a bit of patience. After the first couple of listens you may feel that many songs sound the same, but give it a few more spins and you will find the rubies in the saddlebag. Every song has something to offer, some more than others.
Adding to the value for money is the "God damn war" bonus CD. For free you get 9 extra songs! I haven't given this cd more than a couple of listens, so I can't judge it yet. Several songs sound like they have great potential, so there is no reason not to get this edition.
I hope this is just the starting point for a long solo career and I look forward to hearing how Chris develops his voice with time. It sounds like
Chris Caffery faces a very bright future.
Written by
Steen Saturday, December 4, 2004
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