Crazy Lixx

New Religion

Price: 12.95

Review / Notes: Ahh yes, the 80’s ... a time when guitars were big, hair was bigger, and bands like Motley Crue would shag anything with a pulse! Nostalgia it seems is becoming increasingly big business these days, and what was once considered old hat is fast becoming fashionable again. A lot of the old guard are finally waking up to the fact that contrary to what they’ve been told for the last 20 years, people actually do still give a shit, which in turn is putting bums on seats in ever more significant numbers. Great though it is to see all the old favourites queuing up for one more waltz around the dance floor, if the scene is to move forward and thrive it needs fresh blood ... bands like Crazy Lixx. A four piece from Malmö in Sweden, Crazy Lixx have been kicking around since 2002 – indeed, some of you may remember their independently released debut ‘Loud Minority’ from a couple of years back. Back then they were being touted as the vanguard in a new wave of Swedish sleaze; their brash, snot nosed take on early Motley Crue, Poison, Skid Row et all kicking like a mule in heat. Skip forward a couple of years however, and we find a somewhat more sophisticated Crazy Lixx about to unleash sophomore effort ‘New Religion’ on an expectant public. Like their predecessors back in the day, it would seem that time refining their act on the road plus the rising success of more mainstream melodic hard rock has had a subtle, but profound effect on the band. Sure, the early Crue / Poison influences can still be heard, but these are now tempered by increasingly strong references to the works of bands like Dokken, Tesla and Cinderella ... and to be fair to them, they’re actually turning out to be pretty bloody good at it! Crunching riffs sit cheek by jowl with slick, more sophisticated hooks and melodies, making tracks like ‘Rock And A Hard Place’, ‘Children Of The Cross’, ‘Road To Babylon’ and ‘The Witching Hour’ a gloriously hedonistic reminder of everything that was great about the late 80’s. Produced once again by Chris Laney, the sound on ‘New Religion’ is bold, loud and in your face – and what’s even better, there’s still nary a down tuned riff in sight! (D.Cockett)