I really love what I do being a concert photographer. I had the pleasure of photographing Jake E. Lee during his stint with Ozzy Osbourne back in the 80’s as he gained a huge following almost instantly. After leaving Ozzy, Lee went onto form BADLANDS and history was made. There was a short time with him doing WICKED ALLIANCE post BADLANDS but then it seemed nothing. After a very long hiatus Lee is back with a full vengeance with RED DRAGON CARTEL.

RED DRAGON CARTEL came together when old Las Vegas friend Ronnie Mancuso (ex-BEGGARS and THIEVES) (bass) hooked up with Jake and D.J. Smith (vocals) and Jonas Fairley (drums) were recruited by a post “Jake E. Lee needs a lead singer and drummer Facebook page” and RED DRAGON CARTEL was born.
The band has been hard at work and their self-titled release will hit Europe on January 24th 2014 and North America on January 28th on Frontiers Records.

The disc starts off with “Deceived” as Jake E. Lee’s trademark guitar work shines immediately. D.J Smith vocals do have some elements of Ozzy with a cleaner sound. You gotta know by now all focus is on Jake E. Lee and he will be under the microscope by past and present fans.  Just sitting back listening to track two “Shout It Out” this will be a great live song for fans to sing along to the chorus. Jake shreds with some slicing guitar work with an exceptional midsection of Ronnie Mancuso and Jonas Fairley bringing the power of excellence.

Track three “Feeder” features Robin Zander of CHEAP TRICK. It really is an outstanding song that has all the right components to make RED DRAGON CARTEL world renown. Jake’s guitar work has that mystical vibe of ancient Egyptian flare.

“Fall From The Sky” (Seagull) is a great tune that has tantalizing sounds ala Perry Farrell of JANE’S ADDICTION.  Jake’s playing some amazing melodic guitar work as D.J Smith caresses each note on this melodic gem.

“Wasted” gets down and dirty featuring Paul Di’Anno (ex-IRON MAIDEN) on vocals.
Jake has total control with mesmerizing guitar work but drummer Jonas Fairley is the polish that shines here.

For me “Slave” shows the expertise of RED DRAGON CARTEL. The track shows the master musicianship of excellence. Overall it’s not a commercial tune but musically wise is perfection.

“Big Mouth” features Maria Brink of IN THIS MOMENT and it explodes with delight. It’s raw in nature with a bit of blues and flashes of punk.  Seems to have a taste of a little of everything going on.

“War Machine” brings back the sound of the 70’s BLACK SABBATH era. I am not sure if RED DRAGON CARTEL were intentionally trying to bring a vibe BLACK SABBATH with the down tuning but it sure as hell sounds good. This is my highlight track.

“Redeem Me” features Canadian female vocalist Sass Jordan.Sass has that ballsy sound reminiscent of Sandi Saraya but with a bluesy tone. “Redeem Me” stands tall among these other heavy hitters.

Ending the disc is a pretty cool piano instrumental named “Exquisite Tenderness” that your imagination can latch onto and dreams could come true while listening.

Overall, JAKE E. LEE still plays great and it’s nice to have him back on the scene.