Ah, I love the smell of napalm in the morning and bombs going off so that means only one thing… the FREAKSHOW is coming. The explosive new super group consisting of MISS CRAZY’s Markus Allen Christopher, QUIET RIOT’s Frankie Banali, CINDERELLA’s Jeff LaBar and THE FIRM’s Tony Franklin will shock the system by releasing their debut disc shortly and make a positive impact to the music scene worldwide.
I’m not going to sit here and say that every track I heard kicks ass, but for sure a major part of the disc smokes! I’m not sure but I think Christopher should be called “the chameleon” because his vocals change from song to song. “Welcome To The Freakshow” starts off the disc and it flashes to a later day LED ZEPPPELIN sound with Christopher’s vocals, heavy down-tuning and thundering bass lines by Franklin making you take notice immediately and with the hook up of Banali smashing the kit, it makes this a great opening track. The next song “Everyone” blows me away with the hardcore MISS CRAZY style yet the key element is FREAKSHOW’s phenomenal harmonies. This is the stuff music fans have been waiting for—its ARENA rock coming home!
Can you say “Kashmir”? Well check the riffs on “It’s Really Over”. You know bassists really don’t get a lot of credit unless you have an 8 inch tongue but I’ll tell you Franklin’s bass is so noticeable and amazing he shines throughout the disc. and LaBar is unbelievable on guitar.
“Burning Me” pushes the throttle, a fast song with LaBar and Christopher trading leads. And “Four Leaf Clover” is another fast song that has elements of CHEAP TRICK with great harmonies. The musicianship in FREAKSHOW is stunning and it should be with the tenure of the members.
“Looking Back At Me” is another hit maker with ZEPPELIN style vocals at certain points and LaBar flies on this one as I loved the guitar chords and Christopher brings great swagger on vocals.
Ah, my favorite track, “Mindgame”; this is the one that will bring FREAKSHOW popularity. JUST A KILLER TUNE! Markus you did it bro! Rumors have it that the FREAKSHOW might be hitting some festivals like (cough) ROCKLAHOMA maybe, and if it does come to light these fuckers better do this song. I can’t say enough about the track. I would buy the CD just for this one track but if they’re going to throw the rest in that’s cool.
Frankie man you never sounded better, if fans really pay attention listen to “Mistreat Me” Banali and LaBar go off, and I mean GO OFF, on this one.
FREAKSHOW add some dimension with an acoustic track in “Mistaken”. It’s a nice little change from all the pummeling tunes. Well we come to the end and with that said and with the musicians on this debut CD you would expect a gem and you get a gem. So beware, the FREAKSHOW is coming!!!
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Band Lineup:
- Markus Allen Christopher - Guitar/Lead Vocals
- Jeff LaBar - Lead Guitar/Vocals
- Frankie Banali - Drums
- Tony Franklin - Bass Guitar
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Track Listing:
- Welcome To The Freakshow
- Everyone
- You Who Wins
- It’s Really Over
- Burning Me
- Four Leaf Clover
- Looking Back At Me
- Mindgame
- Mistreat Me
- Ripper
- Mistaken
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