Much to my surprise the second offering from Norway’s self proclaimed biker rock band Chrome Division is far superior to
their debut release. Not that there is much demand for this type of music in
the Metal world, after all one Motorhead
is more than enough for the majority of us but. Although their new CD Booze, Broads and Beelzebub (yeah, what
a name) is par for the course for that minute niche in the market the Chrome Division guys seem to enjoy
themselves and that is all that really matters. Fans will surely latch onto the
no holds barred approach that the band takes when it comes to… well, Booze, Broads and Beelzebub.
Musically this CD just rocks. Raw and in your face it
represents a return to form in contrast to the overtly polished and more
pristine like attitude that Metal has taken on in recent years. Not that that
is a bad thing but it’s good to remember your roots and live a little
dangerously once in awhile. The band definitely wields a somewhat chauvinistic
enthusiasm which is displayed in such tracks as “Wine Of Sin” where the
nonchalant lyrics of “show me your tits” are sure to be called into question by
some as well their insistence that rock and Roll is the devil’s music. This of
course probably stems from the fact that they are huge supporters of the
Norwegian Black Metal movement even holding in their ranks Dimmu Borgir frontman Shagrath who slings an axe for this project.
Overall Booze, Broads and Beelzebub is a decent release with a lot of
potential. My only hang up comes by way of the vocals which I’m sorry to say
are maybe a bit too raw and reminiscent of Lemmy Kilmister. One out of the
ordinary perk to this album is the inclusion of the ZZ Top cover “Sharp Dressed Man”. Believe it or not they actually
pull it off and respectfully make it their own. Given a little time these guys
might turn out to be a great asset to the Metal community.
-Priest
