THE LOCAL BAND – Locals Only (2015)
What happens when you put together 4 familiar musicians from the Finnish scene but all from different Rock genres? The result is THE LOCAL BAND and hence the title of their debut CD “Locals Only“.
The fun part of this is the band in fact born in Los Angeles, and they do covers of famous ’80s rock&pop artists.
All started a warm dark night before Christmas in Los Angeles in 2013. Jussi 69 (from dark / goth / glam band The 69 Eyes) and Alexi Laiho (from metallers Children Of Bodom) met in Hollywood, had a couple of drinks and… this was more or less the conversation:
Alexi: “Dude, we gotta get together, play some Poison, Mötley, ’80s pop tunes and drink some Jack Daniels shots.” – Jussi: “Ok, when?” – Alexi: “Christmas.” – Jussi: “Cool.”
Archie Cruz from hard rockers Santa Cruz joined soon, and the next question was: “Wait, we need a decent vocalist.” – Olli Herman from poppy melodic rockers Reckless Love was invited and this crazy crew was ready to rock.
On “Locals Only”, The Local Band play some really cool versions of ’80s tunes, such as the synth / rock&pop Corey Hart hit “Sunglasses at Night”, a fun rocking take on “Untouched”, made famous by Australian recording group The Veronicas, or Pat Benatar’s classic “Promises In The Dark”.
We have also a fantastic – pure ’80s style – version of “Out Of The Darkness”, the Little Steven / Steven Van Zandt cult classic (a band also including Jean Beauvoir), a heavy (!) “Hazy Shade Of Winter” (Paul Simon cover), and an insane glammy version of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Waiting For Darkness”.
Additionally there’s a surprising – and really good – cover of “The Darkest Side of The Night”, composed by Stan Meissner / Fred Mollin for their AOR project Metropolis, a song also included in the “Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan” movie soundtrack.
“Locals Only” is all fun, ’80s stuff covered with a twist.
All is very well played, arranged and produced, and it’s obvious the chemistry between these dissimilar musicians worked great.
Very, very recommended.
1. Sunglasses at Night
(Corey Hart cover)
2. Untouched
(The Veronicas cover)
3. Promises In The Dark
(Pat Benatar cover)
4. Out Of The Darkness
(Little Steven / Van Zandt cover)
5. Hazy Shade Of Winter
(Paul Simon cover)
6. The Darkest Side of The Night
(Metropolis / Stan Meissner cover)
7. Waiting For Darkness
(Ozzy Osbourne cover)
Olli Herman (Reckless Love) – vocals
Alexi Laiho (Children Of Bodom) – guitars, bass, vocals
Jussi69 (The 69 Eyes) – drums, vocals
Archie Kuosmanen Cruz (Santa Cruz) – guitars, bass, vocals
BUY IT !
www.recordshopx.com/artist/local_band/locals_only_dark_edition/#443559
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