Rhino Bucket The Hardest Town
by John Kindred
Staff Writer
Rhino Bucket returns with their follow up album to ‘06s And Then It Got Ugly with The Hardest Town. Georg Dolivo (v, g) and Reeve Downes (b, v) are joined by former AC/DC drummer Simon Wright (Dio) and guitarist Brian Forsythe (Kix). The band continues to languish within the framework of their ‘70s hard rock grooves.
Interestingly enough, Rhino Buckett sounds eerily similar to the AC/DC of the ‘70s which was led by the voice of the late Bon Scott. The return of Simon Wright (AC/DC band member from ’83 to ’89, Rhino Bucket member ’93 to ‘94) lends a bit of credence to the comparison between the two bands. Forsythe joined the band back in ’01.
4-chords, 3-chords … hell, how about power-chords? The band’s music falls into the 4/4 time signature, performed around tight drum progressions, thundering bass rhythms and straight ahead guitar riffs all backing the gritty, Bon Scott -inspired vocals. Doing it longer than Airborne but with less of a metallic sound, Rhino Bucket takes the AC/DC influence and molds it into their version of heavy blues and hard rock.
The music chugs along at a moderate tempo. The rhythm guitars feed off each other, balanced perfectly between the left and right channels. Overdriven, not necessarily overly distorted, the band kicks off the CD with the title track “The Hardest Town.” Some simple works are better than overly-complicated, and the band proves that from the first chord that is struck.
The 40+ minutes of music finds some diamonds in the rough. “To Be Mine” has that AC/DC “Ride On” blues groove. “Know MY Name” opens at a faster pace and rumbling bass guitar driving the song along. “No One Here” has a catchy, almost funky guitar riff and plodding bass line.
For fans of this style of hard rock, Rhino Bucket delivers another collection of quality rock songs. The music is not overly complicated or socially aware. Just chalk it up to listenable, fun and classic-influenced hard rock.
Label: Acetate Records
Band:
Georg Dolivo – Vox/Guitar
Reeve Downes – Bass/Vox
Brian Forsythe – Guitar
Simon Wright – Drums
Track Listing:
1. The Hardest Town
2. Dog Don’T Bite
3. Know My Name
4. Justified
5. Street To Street
6. Take Me Down
7. No One Here
8. She’S With Me
9. You’Re Gone
10. To Be Mine
11. Slip Away
HRH rating: 7/10