BULLETBOYS – From Out Of The Skies [Japanese Edition] (2018)

BULLETBOYS will release their new album, “From Out Of The Skies“, on March 23 via Frontiers Music, but this Japanese Edition will appear tomorrow.
Three years ago, BulletBoys founder and singer Marq Torien poured scorn on hair-metal bands that simply “regurgitate their past”. This ninth BulletBoys album further distances Torien from his identikit rivals, it’s a modern album sounding album.

BulletBoys sound has kept the band going for 20 years and is still as relevant now as it was back in 1988. The new album is full of solid tracks that are catchy and enjoyable to listen to.
Marq’s vocals continue to stand the test of time as he hits those high notes in the title track, yet is also able to soothe on the more melodious tracks.
‘Whatcha Don’t’ begins with an early flurry of riffs and drums that move into a riff-roaring, big drum beat, rocker. With ‘P.R.A.B.’, Bullet Boys drop in some quirky keyboards to start another metal injected riff rocker. Then at the midpoint or so there’s a segue that has a near funk rock groove.

It’s not all hard rock and heavy. Both ‘Hi-Fi Drive By’ and ‘Once Upon A Time’ turn more on a Melodic Rock vibe in the groove, and vocal arrangement. Then there’s the ballads ‘Losing End Again’ and ‘Switchblade Butterfly’ which feature Torien’s voice over acoustic guitar.
However, there’s more modern metal-infused rockers such as ‘Apocalypto’ and ‘D-Evil’ (which features Jesse Hughes of Eagles of Death Metal on vocals), both cool, but somewhat akin Foo Fighter’s sound. I think the best BulletBoys appears when they are faithful to their original sound.

“From Out Of The Skies” offers some variety in the songs which makes the album interesting, entertaining, and somewhat unpredictable.
You can’t accuse Torien and BulletBoys of living in the past, they have evolved over the years morphing their sound & style according to times. While this is welcomed – not repeating themselves over and over again – I am not completely convinced with the ‘modern sounding’ tracks here.
Anyway, the original BulletBoys spark appear on several songs, and as whole, “From Out Of The Skies” is an impactful rockin’ album.
Strongly Recommended

01 – Apocalypto
02 – D-Evil
03 – From out of the Skies
04 – Hi-Fi Drive By
05 – Losing End Again
06 – Whatcha Don’t
07 – Get Ready (Japan Bonus Track)
08 – P.R.A.B.
09 – Sucker Punch
10 – Switchblade Butterfly
11 – Once Upon a Crime

Marq Torien – Vocals & Lead Guitar
Nick Rozz – Guitar
Chad MacDonald – Bass
Joaquin Revuelta – Drums

PRE ORDER:
www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/KICP-1876
.