More info: www.crucifiedbarbara.com, http://www.gmrmusic.se/
Verdict: All female band let the music do the talking
Crucified Barbara started out with punk rock on their minds, but have traded that in for a more metal approach. So you've seen the album cover at the top of the article and you know that we're talking about an all female rock band - a genre which gets lots of press coverage, but not always for the music. The girls scrub up well to say the least which will no doubt help them in many ways, but maybe not to get taken seriously. Not that I think judging from their comical monikers, such as Kicki Wicked & Mia Coldheart, it will annoy them too much.
Given their punk heritage it is no surprise that the band play heavy metal of the sleaze rock variety and a quick summary would be to describe them are Vixen meets Motley Crue. They have toured with Motorhead and the overall vibe from their music is reminiscent of Motorhead pals Girlschool.
"Killer on her Knees" kicks off the album decently, but "Pain & Pleasure" which has more a hard rock rock base and a catchy chorus fairs better. The first single from the album, "Sex Action", shows that the band aren't afraid of trading on their gender. Crunchy is a word that I'd use to describe quite a few of the tracks and "Creatures" certainly fits that description. "Jennyfer" has the band change pace and style with Vixen & Lita Ford springing to mind.
The next couple tracks "Dark Side" & "Can't Handle Love" are decent, if unremarkabke, mid album tracks. Even the title "Blackened Bones" conjures up images of Metallica and this track has the girls taking a heavier approach. From one bunch of megastars to another on "Danger Danger" where GnR get the Crucified Barbara spin. This leaves "Rats" and "Feels Like Death" to close the album with more crunchy rock.
Quite often with all female rock bands it seems that the music is a bit of an afterthought with the publicity machine focusing on other aspects of the band. In the case of Crucified Barbara, the girls have created an album where the music is good enough to do the talking and the whole image thing can be merely be the icing on the cake.
