-Slave to the Hourglass CD review by Patrick de Sloover for Metal to Infinity website-12/14/2006-Belgium
-To see the actual review, click HERE
CAROLINE BLUE-SLAVE TO THE HOURGLASS-INDEPENDENT
Caroline Blue is a three piece band that is located in Syracuse, New York. Current line up is Josh Dean on drums, Johnny Sniper on bass, and mastermind Wayne W. Johnson is taking care of the lead vocals and guitars. All members have played in numerous bands before, so they could acquire experience a lot! The members on the picture of the CD are not the current members and did not play on this EP. The only reason why they were printed is because they were part of the line up at the time of the CD’s release. It might be a bit confusing, but you can read all details on the bands homepage: http://www.carolineblue.com/.
It was my first acquaintance with the band, and from the opener Slave To The Hourglass, there was a pop up in my head that directed me to Kiss their Paul Stanley. Not only the voice of Wayne is resembling, also the intonation, and the way he brings it on, refers to Kiss their front man. Musical wise, we hear great, solid but Melodic Hard Rock that will please a lot of fans that are into the old school 80’s hair metal. The band shot a video for this title track, and also one for ”The Queen of Pleasure”, perchance my favorite tracks from the EP. Wayne holds the string tight, and whatever the line up is, he’s the man that controls the band and the songs.
So far, the band has a repertoire of more or less 20 songs, and a huge catalog of cover tracks. Does it surprise you that they cover about 15 Kiss tracks, but also Metallica, Godsmack, Black Sabbath, Halford, Iced Earth, Judas Priest, AC/DC… a.o. I have the feeling that this band is a real live act that knows what people like and know how to bring it down to the masses! The five songs on the EP are above the average what I’ve heard these months, and make me curious about the next material that is being recorded at Strangeland Audio Studios in Phoenix, NY.
Scott Patnode is doing the producing / engineering, and the release is set for early 2007. Besides 12 songs, there might be a bonus or hidden track on the disc, but I do hope that the band will deliver upper class material than the 6 minutes acoustic track (track 6) that was hidden on this E.P. or the second hidden track (#13), which consists of a telephone call of a complaining of their landlord… Totally negligible and of no use at all…My rating: 80/100
Patrick de Sloover on behalf of Metal To Infinity Webzine
CAROLINE BLUE 