New Jersey Band Solid On The Sound But Lacks In Vocals
Featuring the highlight song of the same title, it’s a combination of hard-driving rock good for slammin’ whiskey to subtle touches more alined with a romantic clink of wine glasses.
But make no mistake, this is hard rock and AUG rocks in this CD.
The title track starts out hard on guitars with local vocals, making you want to take a swig of your beer or JD were you to be listening to the band live, then suddenly rises up to a high pitch that brings Journey’s Steve Perry to mind.
One interesting song is a cover of Toto’s “Africa.”
The band that has hosted VH1’s That Metal Show Christmas party the past three years based on its first CD, “20 Years In Hell,” went into the famed House Of Lord studio in Saddle Brook, N.J., for its second recording.
The result is a guitar-heavy series of songs mixed in with vocals that are, for the most part, softer than the instruments indicate. You expect lead singer Aug to do some screaming into the microphone but you don’t get much of that, as if he’s a heavyweight fighter who prefers to rabbit punch rather than go for the knockout. Occasionally, most notably on “Coming Home,” he’s even off tune while singing.
In fact, the singing is the band’s weakness; were it to concentrate more on heavy guitar licks and less on lyrics, it would be a big improvement.
The band is using the CD to launch a European tour. It has opened for Joe Lynn Turner, Faster Pussycat, LA Guns, Great White and jeadlined “Derby Ink Festival” in Hershey Arena. It has reached #2 on Reverbnation’s Hot 500 Rock chart.
Overall, the band seems to be a good one to hear in concert, and the CD is good music for a rocker’s house party. But you’ve got to be a real fan to have it playing solo or while driving down the road. There’s some killer guitar licks – none better than the solo on “The Devils Rejects” – but there’s not enough of that to make you stand up, pump the fist and say “Oh, YEAHHHH!”
Band Members:
• Aug -Lead Vocals / Guitar
• Rich Tanis- Bass / Vocals
• Russ LaMater- Drums/Percussion
• Tommy Shauger- Lead Guitar/ Backing vocals
Links:
AUG website: augrocknewjersey.wix.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/augrocks
Twitter: www.twitter.com/augrocks
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