I won’t say I was a fan of the BULLETBOYS back in the day but something has to be said for the handful of endearing singles and videos the band had in the heyday of MTV, the likes of which can still be seen on VH1 Classic today. Songs like “Smooth Up In Ya”, “For The Love Of Money”, “Hang On St. Christopher” and “THC Groove” made the band one of the more memorable bands in the sea of hard rock acts from the 80’s.

I first became interested in the band, and this record in particular, about a year or so ago when I heard singer Marq Torien on the Eddie Trunk XM satellite radio show. Torien debuted the track “Road To Nowhere” that night and I thought the song had a great, updated sound for the band. Upon finally getting this album in my hands, I still think that is the best track on the record but it’s not to say there isn’t some other kick-ass music offered up on “10¢ Billionaire”.

The record is a modern record (with an almost punk vibe at times-see the tunes “Girls Kissin Girls” & “Save The World”) but for the most part retains enough hooks and melody to keep your attention. The record opens with the ripping “Asteroid”. It has a raw, in-your-face feel with the vocals of Torien and guitars of Tory Stoffregen taking center stage. “Blessed By Your Touch” is another in-your-face rocker but the chorus is great and really keeps the song together.

Most tunes follow a similar course with their edgy hard rock sound and I would have liked to see a bit more variety to keep things interesting but the one thing that seems to save the day in most cases is the catchy hooks within the songs. As Torien is credited with both the music and lyric writing on the record, you can see he seems to have a clue about how to craft a tune.

Songs like the aforementioned “Road To Nowhere”, the excellent “Jenna Star”, with it’s ENUFF Z’NUFF vibe and “Save The World” are real winners but other tunes like “Born To Breed” and “Wasted” seem to have too similar a sound to make them stand out from one another. Still, overall, I have to say I am pleasantly surprised with “10¢ Billionaire” for the most part and it certainly has gotten more than a few spins in my CD player for the last month, so that has to say something. If you don’t expect the band to sound like it’s 1988 and you like your 80’s hard rock with a modern, updated vibe then maybe check out “10¢ Billionaire”.