| CD REVIEW Charing Cross |
 |
|
Band : Charing Cross The history of this Lucern based Swiss band apparently goes back to the late '80s, but they didn't really develop their current style until guitarist/ backing vocalist Pascal Swyssig (the now longest remaining member of the band) joined in 1993. Over the years CC kept a relatively low profile (from which they occasionally surfaced to play gigs, festivals, and play support to such internationally known acts as Nazareth, Suzie Quatro, Soul Sirkus, and Switzerland's own Krokus and Shakra) recorded and released a total of 4 demos and one EP (2003's 5-track Back For Attack, which can all be heard at the band's website charing-cross.ch) and stabilized their line-up to the current one comprising lead singer Peter Hochuli, Swyssig, second guitarist/ backing singer Andy Dormann, bassist/ backing singer Markus Flury, and drummer Tommy Pfiffner (the latter one already having been broken in while their previous drummer still played in spite of having indicated almost a year before, did his debut gig on October 23), during 2005. During 2006 the quintet felt they were ready to make a full-length recording, and started the writing and recording process (with production of their own) already at the beginning of the year. A very tedious job apparently, because by January 2007 only 6 songs were finished. Just before New Year's Eve, the boys had opened a page at MySpace where, immediately in the new year, they posted new songs "Kick Ass Rock 'N' Roll" and "Forever Rockin'" for their fans to enjoy. Towards the end of March recordings were almost finished, except for a few details...and the mixing and mastering, of course. Meanwhile the band posted yet another few songs off the album at their MySpace. In between they continued to play gigs on a regular basis (occasionally getting rather favourable reactions from local press), and eventually the mixing and mastering of the CD was done and ready in February 2008. Not ready to be distributed yet, though. June becomes a happy month for the band: on the first they play a gig in support of White Lion, and halfway the month they get signed to German based label Metal Heaven! The Swiss bring a nice mixture of Pompous Hard Rock (with a Guns 'N' Roses influence in "Burn The Sky") and melodic Heavy Metal (Iron Maiden influence in "Kick Ass Rock 'n' Roll")tunes. They even bring a semi-acoustic ballad (with additional atmospheric keyboards) with "Long Time Ago". All in all, the 12 tracks are nice enough, and the singer has a agreable slightly nasal, slightly heady voice which is not without its charm (without being exceptional), and the combination is sure to please any audience as a support to a "bigger" band...but even after several listening sessions I can't help myself from pondering over the idea whether the band hàs what it takes to màke it any further than on a lócal level. In a way, the band has perhaps worked a bit too long on their material, and they've ended up taking a "safe" route, which eventually prohibited 'em from rising above the average of what is currently available in the genre. Something more than 20 years ago, when the market was less saturated, Metal fans from all over Europe might have rallied to try and get a copy of such a band as this, but I'm afraid those days are long gone. Listen to a total of 4 songs off the new album at myspace.com/charingcross (and don't forget to check the music section of the band's own website; link on their MySpace page). In spite of the somewhat negative sounding words above, I personally still find some charm in the band's varied music (even if a few of the songs are soóó full of clichés!). Whether the band indeed breaks through to other areas than their native country very much depends on whether they can get the support to get a tour organized...to Germany for starters...but for the moment the band announces live support on a local level only, starting in October!!! 80/100 Tony. |