Sixx: A.M.
Prayers for the Blessed, Vol. 2
Eleven Seven Music
2016
I’ve hardly kept up with Sixx’s eponymous vehicle for a while, because everything that I heard from them past a couple of neat singles on their debut was so similar and homogenous that almost made me puke.
Apparently a companion piece for a presumable volume 1 that I didn’t even hear a peepsqueak about, so guess how good it’s promotional campaign must have been or how out of touch with reality I must have been. Oh well, I had to go back and give it a spin on the freewebs and much like this “volume” it’s typical of the band’s well performed, but essentially wimpy rock that sits somewhere between modern rock and a hard place really, as it attempts to sound modern and electronic, with this much guitar fall rather flat, despite the up to date production.
Also the combination of the Bitzkit’s and Linkin Park’s of this world with Sixx’s songwriting bears unconvincing results, as it doesn’t matter to really either come up with huge choruses, or huge grooves, but ends up somewhere in the middle, unable to appeal convincingly to either the old or the nu fans. In fact if you take away the Motley factor, despite this being pretty decent, I doubt anyone would give two shits really.
“Barbarians (Prayers for the Blessed)” is a bit to rap to be rock and to rock to be rap, really and its chorus is too sugary to be taken seriously.
“We Will Not Go Quietly” uses the same formula, but slows down a bit and makes things more dramatic, with little difference being made.
“Wolf at Your Door” is bizarrely bright and despite being riffy and even solo-y, it is not great, but at least it’s a bit better overall, despite marking a departure from that “ultra-modern style” and a foray into a more modern/alt/industrial style.
“Maybe It’s Time” is a wimpy ballad that’s delivered sincerely enough, but is so “by the numbers”, that’s worse than those “hair-anthems” that the late 80s were given so much flak about. This is far worse.
“The Devil’s Coming”, well you think it’s gonna be a stompy little affair, by its intro, but it turns into a modernist little, but 80s styled anthem that partly reminded me of TSOL, when they went hairy, or Tomorrow’s Child at their wildest, but here sounding a lot more modern and driven.
“Catacombs” is a solo-fest, which I thought nu-kids sorta hate, but when you’ve got a decent player in your band like Dj, oh well why not.
“That’s Gonna Leave a Scar” is groovy, but ultimately quite formulaic a passable enough modern rocker.
“Without You” is a cover of the Badfinger classic (with its pretty tragic story) actually closer to a faithful enough reprisal of the Nilsson version of the track to be exact, as the very original lacked some of the nuisances and flair in the solo…
By “Suffocate” the band has shed its modern mantle and sounds pretty 70s/80s rock a style that bodes much better with Sixx’s overall style.
“Riot in My Head” has a more cinematic style, but still keeps up with the “not modern” production and even has some weird half dissonant female backing vocals… really sounding like an odd tribute to 70s British Rock bands, like WTF, a totally different sound on a single album.
Lastly, “Helicopters” is a very orchestral and cinematic ballad that’s quite stirring and semi-operatic even in scope with all its harmonies.
Which really begs the question WTF – did 2 different bands do the album? Did Sixx write half of this album with one hemisphere and the rest with the other? I dunno, but I obviously know which one I like... and it’s the later part… extremely uneven and even stylistically messed up part 2, seems like the second part of two albums that were shuffled together in not the proper order and category of style.
Apparently a companion piece for a presumable volume 1 that I didn’t even hear a peepsqueak about, so guess how good it’s promotional campaign must have been or how out of touch with reality I must have been. Oh well, I had to go back and give it a spin on the freewebs and much like this “volume” it’s typical of the band’s well performed, but essentially wimpy rock that sits somewhere between modern rock and a hard place really, as it attempts to sound modern and electronic, with this much guitar fall rather flat, despite the up to date production.
Also the combination of the Bitzkit’s and Linkin Park’s of this world with Sixx’s songwriting bears unconvincing results, as it doesn’t matter to really either come up with huge choruses, or huge grooves, but ends up somewhere in the middle, unable to appeal convincingly to either the old or the nu fans. In fact if you take away the Motley factor, despite this being pretty decent, I doubt anyone would give two shits really.
“Barbarians (Prayers for the Blessed)” is a bit to rap to be rock and to rock to be rap, really and its chorus is too sugary to be taken seriously.
“We Will Not Go Quietly” uses the same formula, but slows down a bit and makes things more dramatic, with little difference being made.
“Wolf at Your Door” is bizarrely bright and despite being riffy and even solo-y, it is not great, but at least it’s a bit better overall, despite marking a departure from that “ultra-modern style” and a foray into a more modern/alt/industrial style.
“Maybe It’s Time” is a wimpy ballad that’s delivered sincerely enough, but is so “by the numbers”, that’s worse than those “hair-anthems” that the late 80s were given so much flak about. This is far worse.
“The Devil’s Coming”, well you think it’s gonna be a stompy little affair, by its intro, but it turns into a modernist little, but 80s styled anthem that partly reminded me of TSOL, when they went hairy, or Tomorrow’s Child at their wildest, but here sounding a lot more modern and driven.
“Catacombs” is a solo-fest, which I thought nu-kids sorta hate, but when you’ve got a decent player in your band like Dj, oh well why not.
“That’s Gonna Leave a Scar” is groovy, but ultimately quite formulaic a passable enough modern rocker.
“Without You” is a cover of the Badfinger classic (with its pretty tragic story) actually closer to a faithful enough reprisal of the Nilsson version of the track to be exact, as the very original lacked some of the nuisances and flair in the solo…
By “Suffocate” the band has shed its modern mantle and sounds pretty 70s/80s rock a style that bodes much better with Sixx’s overall style.
“Riot in My Head” has a more cinematic style, but still keeps up with the “not modern” production and even has some weird half dissonant female backing vocals… really sounding like an odd tribute to 70s British Rock bands, like WTF, a totally different sound on a single album.
Lastly, “Helicopters” is a very orchestral and cinematic ballad that’s quite stirring and semi-operatic even in scope with all its harmonies.
Which really begs the question WTF – did 2 different bands do the album? Did Sixx write half of this album with one hemisphere and the rest with the other? I dunno, but I obviously know which one I like... and it’s the later part… extremely uneven and even stylistically messed up part 2, seems like the second part of two albums that were shuffled together in not the proper order and category of style.