Lillian Axe – XI:The Days Before Tomorrow
Who is Lillian Axe…
Well, that is not such an easy thing to answer as Lillian Axe has been around since about 1983! That’s right we have some well seasoned rockers here. Throughout the years the line up has had many changes so for this review we are going to stick with the current line up. XI:The Days Before Tomorrow which is their 11th studio album, features their new lead vocalist Brian Jones who was formerly with the bands Guns of Addiction and Full Moon Circus, as well as guitarist for Wind-up Artist, Papercut Massacre. On drums we have Ken Koudelka, Eric Morris on the bass and Sam Poitevent on guitars. This time lead guitarist Steve Blaze also took on the producers hat as well as the lead guitar work.
Steve Blaze, band founder says in an earlier interview from March 11th, 2011 on www.antimusic.com: “We have spent the last six months searching for and reviewing candidates to the point of driving us crazy.” Blaze continues, “Choosing your front man is the most vital task in a band’s existence, so we really took our time to make sure that the person we chose fit every category to the best of their abilities.
Brian is a complete breath of fresh air. He is an amazing talent, as well as a fireball of enthusiasm, which has really sparked the attitudes of the rest of us.” It looks as if all the long searching has paid off. They found a powerful voice to front a powerful band.The thing I find interesting in all of this is that Brian started out as a fan 15 years ago. At that point is when he meet Steve Blaze who became a sort of mentor to Brian as they both shared a love for guitar playing. I read where Brian stated he was scared to say anything to the band but knew he could perform the songs. Funny how life’s little encounters can turn into something huge.
Some of my favorites…
BABYLON is the first track on this new release. It introduces you to the power voice that Brian brings to Lillian Axe. Soaring guitar riffs are heard throughout this song. A great way to start your musical journey.
TAKE THE BULLET Erupts in a hail of gunfire as you are thrown into this wild rock ride. Some of the best guitar work on this one folks. Steve Blaze does some of his best guitar work in years and you can feel it on the whole CD especially on this one. The whole groups sounds great together, no one person stands above the others and the overall feel and sound of Lillian Axe is better today than it ever has been!
LAVA ON MY TONGUE is my favorite track on this newest release. It is also the EMURG PICK for this review so you will be able to listen to it after you read the review. I really love the lyrics and the sound of this track. This one has some searing vocals and the guitar hooks really get you on this one. I constantly find myself tapping my foot or shaking my head when this one comes on.
This whole CD is full of great songs, check out the complete track listing below.
01 ““ Babylon
02 ““ Death Comes Tomorrow
03 ““ Gather Up The Snow
04 ““ The Great Divide
05 ““ Take The Bullet
06 ““ Bow Your Head
07 ““ Caged In
08 ““ Soul Disease
09 ““ Lava On My Tongue
10 ““ My Apologies
IN CONCLUSION…
This is a great release by Lillian Axe and there really is NOT a bad song on this one. Definitely the best of their long career. Steve Blaze continues to keep them around and his latest incarnation is perhaps the best so far. Oh, and in case you were wondering about the name LILLIAN AXE here is a bit of trivia for you. “The name was inspired by a character in the Stephen King movie Creepshow. There was a bridesmaid skeleton floating in a little boys window at the start of the movie. This conjured the name Lillian in my head and the word axe just fell into place. I have always been a huge fan of horror movies and the supernatural so this word combination worked perfectly.” Steve Blaze founder of LILLIAN AXE.
Thanks for taking the time to read this review, if you are into hard rock with a slight progressive feel and sound combined with awesome lyrics you will not be disappointed
Lillian Axe - XI:The Days Before Tomorrow,
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Who am I??? I am a short, bald and slightly over weight one-eyed rock and roll FAN! I do NOT have any professional writing skills from any schools or major publications. I am SIMPLY a music fan, nothing more and nothing less...I just love to RnFnR as SLASH would say!
Congratulation to Tessie the winner of the LILLIAN AXE CD!!! Please send your info to info@emurg.com so they can get it to you!!! Hope you like EMURG on FB if you did you got bonus cds!!!
Thanks for the reply and congrats again!!!
John
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Great review! I love the album and can’t wait to see another show.
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Tessie, Thanks for taking the time to read my review and to comment also! I hope to see them soon!
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Thanks for the review! I’ve heard the sample for “Take the Bullet” and look forward to hearing this album in its entirety next time I happen to catch Axe on tour .. Long time fan, loved all the new stuff I’ve heard so far. For those who aren’t familiar with Axe, some starting points would be Psychoschitzophrenia, Love And War, and Sad Day On Planet Earth. . . Although, ALL of their albums have been great, in my opinion.
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Ken Sad Day ON Planet Earth was an awesome release. I really enjoyed reviewing this one as I had the cd on repeat for a few days…LOL I am surprised she didn’t kill me….LOL Thanks for reading and posting!
John
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John,
I wanted to thank you for taking the time to write a review for the new record. I thought you did a great job and I just wanted to let you know I appreciate your taking the time to do this. I will personally get the word out in regards to this link and your review and again, thank you for all of the kind words and more importantly, I am glad you enjoyed the album. See ya soon my friend.
Sincerely,
Brian Jones
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Brian I am HONORED that you would comment on my review. It means a ton to me especially since I am definitely not a professional writer. I just love music, all kinds but mostly hard rock and heavy metal. The overall sound on this album was great it almost had a slight old school feel. It simple worked!!! Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to read it. Hopefully we will be able to meet this year if you make it to the Pacific Northwest. Anywhere from Portland to Seattle and I am there with a bunch of friends. Take care and keep rockin!
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Hmmmm I wonder if ANYONE has read this?? I say that because all you have to do is post something about this and you will be entered to WIN THIS CD FREE!!! Well at this point I would say I have the inside track to winning it!!!
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