MURDER BAY – Never Was An Angel (2012)
*
For the last two decades, the San Francisco based band MURDER BAY demos circulated hungrily amongst Melodic Hard Rock collectors.
Praised as being one of best acts from the crowded unsigned ’80s rock era, and after a seemingly endless wait, Murder Bay’s long lost recordings are finally delivered to us on CD as “Never Was An Angel”.
The Murder Bay songs were recorded in 1990 and magazine’s such as Metal Edge took notice and the Bay’s were included in the ‘Bands On The Rise’ section. Within a few short months, the band would be showcasing for one of the major labels. The changes the label demanded of the band during negotiations didn’t sit well and Murder Bay turned down the offer. And soon the grunge arrived…
The high praise for Murder Bay was in fact warranted, as drummer John Link eventually teamed up with Cry Wolf and the band themselves managed to secure the production talents of Eric Valentine (who is working on the current Slash album) and Rob Beaton (Guns ‘N Roses) on seven tracks here, before each garnered success in their own right.
So it’s obvious that many people saw the potential in these San Francisco rockers — and now we music fans can experience it as well.
This is polished melodic hard rock at its best, with soaring vocals, cool driving riffs and melodic hooks, all there coinciding with a punchy rhythm section that brings flashes of the good old ’80s days.
Opening the disc with “Land Of Plenty” is a stroke of genius as this full-throttle rocker sets the tone of the album with one of Murder Bay’s best tracks — the song represents everything that made the ’80s hard rock scene so memorable… heavy grooves, an infectious chorus and lightning-fast guitar leads.
Thankfully, as Murder Bay go on to prove during this release, they aren’t a one trick pony.
For instance, “Outta Line” is straight out of the Danger Danger playbook, the title track is a moody slab of rock ala Exteme that explores several tempo changes, while “Long Time Comin`” drives hard rock attitudes straight into your spine.
The sex groove of “Ultraglide” reminds you of days when the Electric Boys used to be dirty and catchy, the guys bring things up a notch on “What’s Good For You” with a quality melodic chorus and tight guitars once more, and “Keep Me In Mind” delivers great hard grooves complete with cowbell.
When they decide to slow it down, they go all blues rock on us and provide the brilliant track “Simple Man”. White Lion’s Mike Tramp can only wish he could write a blues ballad as heartfelt.
The last tune “Song?” is a terrific Van Halen style riff fest with a cool little rhythm, awesome drumming and killer guitar solos.
Murder Bay had it all: great songs, superb musicianship and a clear focus in how a band in this genre should sound.
“Never Was An Angel” proves that Murder Bay was one of the most professional but never signed bands of the ’80s hard rock / hair movement.
Their music here is catchy and groovy, with hints of Warrant, White Lion, Van Halen and Extreme, and the quality on many of the songs are on par with the biggest hits of the aforementioned acts. The production is remarkable, with crispy harmonics and powerful output.
“Never Was An Angel” has an excellent packaging as well, with very good artwork and an extensive booklet full of photos and liner notes.
If you fancy the real deal and the great sound of the late ’80s / early ’90s, have a go at Murder Bay as they’re truly good at what they do: timeless hard rock music that will never die.
01 – Land Of Plenty
02 – Honey Child
03 – Outta Line
04 – Ultraglide
05 – Simple Man
06 – Dirty Work
07 – Never Was An Angel
08 – What’s Good For You
09 – Long Time Comin’
10 – Keep Me In Mind
11 – Got No Business
12 – Around Again
13 – Song?
Paul Trombetta – vocals
Michael Karafilis – guitar and vocals
Bobby Reid – bass and vocals
John Link – drums and vocals
BUY IT !
www.amazon.com/Never-Was-Angel-Murder-Bay/dp/B007BS15QC
