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Tigertailz – Bezerk 2.0

"In the year 1990 they drove the whole world Bezerk. Now, get ready to go Bezerk all over again!"

Tigertailz fans haven't quite had to wait 16 years for a follow-up to the band's 1990 milestone album - there have been 1991's stop-gap 'Banzai!', 1994's much-delayed and rerecorded 'Wazbones', and finally 1996's live best-of 'You Lookin' At Me?'. Spiritually speaking however, this is the true follow-up to 'Bezerk' and from the moment Tigertailz's 5th studio album roars into life, you know things are never gonna be the same again. It's time to throw off your cardigan and slippers, dig out the wife's high-heels, your daughter's hair-straighteners, and (depending upon how unkind the intervening years have been to your waistline) maybe even your grandmother's girdle. It's as if the last 12 years never happened!

The majority of 'Bezerk 2.0' was written well before the band's 2004 reformation. And with the album recorded on a self-financed basis (prior to the band signing to Demolition Records), you could be forgiven for expecting 'Bezerk 2.0' to sound dated and cheap. However, what you have here is a collection of 12 superbly crafted songs, pulled together into a cohesive album with a top quality production job from the band's friend and "5th member" Tim Lewis. The result? Glam Metal has never sounded so NOW!!!

Kicking off with the eponymous 'Bezerk', the 'Tailz set out their stall from the start' with monstrous riffage and sound effects aplenty, before launching into the catchy as hell 'Do It Up' - a track that will be familiar to anyone who has caught the band at any one of the handful of live dates played since their return. Right from the start you know that this album is a return to the 'classic' 'Tailz sound of the 'Bezerk' era, rather than a continuation of the heavier / darker sounds displayed on the 'Wazbones' album.

For about half a second, it sounds as though track three, 'One Beat Of Your Heart', has borrowed its opening riff from Bezerk's 'Action City', but before you know it you're into another classic Tigertailz anthem - catchy chorus, huge backing vocals and some awesome guitar from a returning Jay Pepper (absent from the 'Wazbones' album).

Next up is the monster ballad, 'I Believe'. The first of three songs originally recorded for the 'Wazbones' release, although this particular track only appeared on the Japanese version of the album, released under the 'Wazbones' moniker. Sixteen or so years ago (I've got a fucking good memory for these things!), Kim Hooker made the audacious claim that on the band's rerecorded version of 'Living Without You' he was singing was as good as Kiss's Paul Stanley, but that by the time they recorded Bezerk he was singing as well as Axl Rose - the single most distinctive rock vocalist of our time! Sixteen years later, and if 'Chinese Democracy' ever gets a release, you know Axl Rose will be cheating us all if he claims to be singing as well as Kim Hooker! Kim Hooker's performance on this song is SIMPLY AWESOME!!! - without a doubt his best vocal performance to-date. Dripping with power and emotion, not to mention HUGE backing vocals, this is the MEGA-BALLAD that would have made Tigertailz a household name had this version been released back in the days of MTV videos. You will want to play this song VERY LOUD!!!

'T.V.O.D.' is a song that will be familiar to some, as it was played live during the post-Bezerk / pre-Wazbones era, yet failed to make the Wazbones album for some reason - possibly due to the fact that both The Wildhearts and Wolfsbane had released songs with a similar lyrical theme at around the same time ('TV Tan' and 'Cathode Ray Clinic' respectively). Updated here, with a cracking production job, this is another slice of prime-Tigertailz. If you can get this song out of your head, you are a better man than me!

'Falling Down' marks a momentary change of direction for the band. Following some awesome sound effects, we're treated to tribal chanting(!), before a dark and menacing Kim Hooker growls "If I had a soul I would like to keep it free from evil!", setting the scene for one Tigertailz's coolest (and best?) songs yet. An awesome song live too!

'Make Me Bleed' is the first of two rerecordings of songs previously featured on the Wazbones album. Rehashing an 'old' song is always going to attract criticism, particularly when that song featured on only your last studio album. However, Tigertailz are not the first to have done this, and certainly won't be the last. Hanoi Rocks have done it, The Dogs D'Amour and The Quireboys did it. Jesse Malin has virtually made a career out of doing it. Hell, Twisted Sister and LA Guns have even gone so far as to rerecord entire albums! The key to making this worthwhile is to bring something new to the song, and here Tigertailz have taken one of the heavier tracks from Wazbones and overhauled it with a production more akin to the 'classic' Tigertailz sound. The result? Less White Zombie, more 70's Kiss!

'Get Real' is another song with a strong early Kiss feel to it, although there's also a hint of 'Second Coming' era Shotgun Messiah in there too. Heavy, thundering basslines, and a catchy as hell chorus. More of that please! Great philosophy too - "Do What You Feel"!!!

At last, Tigertailz have recorded a song to oust the near twenty-year-old 'Living Without You' from its staple position in their live set. 'Annie'z Gone' (nothing to do with John Denver, thank God!) follows a similar lyrical theme to the Jay Pepper / Steevi Jaimz classic, but is just... better!

After twenty years in the business, a song about marriage doesn't seem totally out of the question, even for a band like Tigertailz. 'For Hate'z Sake', though, is a look at the darker side of matrimony. From personal experience? Who knows? Either way, it's a cracking tune, with some awesome guitar work from Jay Pepper, and a fantastic "HATE, HATE, HATE!!!" sing-along chorus. Another great live song - played and sung with real anger!

I really haven't a clue what 'Sweet Sugar Fever' is about, but it is an absolutely fantastic pop-metal frenzy! If Tigertailz ever needed a full-on, bombastic follow-up to their legendary hit-single, Love Bomb Baby, then this is it! The chorus is bigger than HUGE, and so fucking catchy you will never get the thing out of your head! This is gonna be a massive hit when they play it live!

'Dirty Needlez' is another rehash of a track previously featured on Wazbones, and anybody who's heard the Wazbones version will know that it is perfect in every way. Happily, therefore, this new version is virtually unchanged here, making it the perfect end to a near perfect album.

If Bob Rock can coax an album out of Motley Crue that is even one-tenth as good as Bezerk 2.0, they're gonna be kings of the world once again. As for Tigertailz... I'm just looking forward to Bezerk 3.0, 4.0, 5.0...

As Mel Blanc would probably have said, had he had to endure the 1990s the way the rest of us did: "Hey, that nice puddy-tat's back! It ain't been a lot of fun around here without him!"

Oh, and it's also got a nice sleeve!

Reviewed by Dan Hayes

Merchandise

Berzerk 2.0 T-Shirt Only £15

Clint (I am the Only Glam in the Village) T-Shirt Only £15

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