Monkeyhead is an energetic Heavy Rock Quartet from the East Coast. It was formed in late '95 by the guitarist Jason Hook (Bullet Boys, Mandy Moore) and vocalist Simon Davies. These two guys grew up listening to commercial rock radio that broadcast bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Queen and even Kiss as major influences. Later the band was completed by the bass player Paul Bartel and the drummer Steve O. Earlier this year they recorded this album in the vein of Dokken, Warrant, Winger and also Bon Jovi for the ballads.

The production was given to Beau Hill… he's the same guy who produced the bands mentioned aboved… it seems to me that the general sound reminds me of something! If we shuffle the CD, the first one could be sung by Dokken. The second one Dragon Fly with its interesting sound is the most modern. Guns Of July tells the story of a young boy who killed himself with his daddy's gun. The ballad Temptation come in forth position, a very catchy pop song built for rock'n'roll radio. Anything For Money is in the general style of the album, nothing to say more. After, Adriana built on a monster guitar riff à la Warrant, I'm sure that this track will be one of their greatest songs live! Bow To You Master and Stark Raving Mad continue the musical line. This one Only You wouldn't be disown by Bon Jovi himself. The album ends with Morphine a lot of pounding drums and walls of guitar riffs, followed by All My Friends In Heaven with its emotion feeling.

This good album makes a good impression but the titles aren't very original. It lacks the magic touch to push up the album to a better level! I go back to my recordshelf for exhuming the CDs of Dokken and Co. Maybe I'm a little bit too old and my heart is stuck in the 80's.