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I like
this band. I always did since the first time I listened to them. I
believe that they have brought a fresh air in the 70’s hard rock
music. I was really weird to see the evolution of the band from album
to album… and “Cold Blooded Kings” is the best proof to that!
Yes, this is what I call evolution, inspiration and freshness when it
comes to hard rock music. The Lizards managed to release an excellent
album, which combines all the good elements from the 70’s and the
early 80’s hard rock era. “Cold Blooded Kings” is the best album
of the band to date and now I’m pretty sure that they can do even
better in the future! Why? Which was that big change on The Lizards
camp? Of course the singer! No, that the previous one, John Garner,
wasn’t good or something like that but his voice hasn’t the
freshness and the warmness that Mike’s voice has. Talking about the
new vocalist of the band I must inform you that the well-known Mike
DiMeo (Riot) is now the singer of the band! Are you surprised? I am! I
like very much Mike when he was in Riot but I couldn’t believe that
he would sound so good on The Lizards! The guy sounds like if he was
born for this kind of music! He gave to the band that new-fresh
element that was missing.
On the
other hand the songwriting is very strong here and The Lizards have
written some of the best hard rock songs of the year. There is no need
to speak for the other members of the band cause we all know who good
musicians they are. I also like the variety of the album. They take us
from 70’s hard rock anthems like “The Opal Crest Of Zed” and
“Cold Blooded Kings” and “Magic Cloud” to the early 80’s
rocker “Down” (the spirit Of Whitesnake lives on!), to the
Sabbath-like “We Are Dinosaurs”, to calm 70’s tracks like my
beloved “Rising Star” (I love the sound of hammond) and the
mid-acoustic “Take A Ride”, to the instrumental “Hyperspace”
which will bring on your mind Rainbow and Deep Purple and to the great
funky rocker “Dark Matter”. The production is excellent and very
clear (Patrick Klein and Randy Pratt are responsible for that) and
makes you wanna turn on the volume to the max.
I’m
pretty sure that those who were sceptical about the band will like
them now… and those who like them before, the time has come to love
them! I’m really glad that a band, which has so great musicians,
proved that 70’s-early 80’s hard rock music could be fresh and
powerful without losing its rock identity. If you are looking for a
good 70’s-80’s hard rock album then your search is over!! The
Lizards are indeed Cold Blooded Kings!
by Thanos Aggelakis 8,5/10
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