TNA | TNA CD Review

Tweet

by Nikiforos Skoumas
Staff Writer

Issued by Eonian Records, TNA, is the self titled album of the Memphis Tennessee sleaze metal act. Those familiar with Eonian Records, have probably come to realize that the firm is the market leader in the niche they have shaped; that is recovering and releasing works of hair metal acts that never saw the light of day back in the ’80s.

TNA is indeed amongst those bands that did not enjoy a major album release during their active years. Baring in mind the professional-sounding production (by late ‘80s standards), one could speculate that TNA were just a breath away from being signed and perhaps enjoy a major release. Clearly the twelve songs offered here are not demo material, perfectly complying with the quality standards of a hair metal hit album. One can expect, up-front drumming sustained to perfection, a thick guitar sound that applies to both clean and distorted guitar parts all complemented by discrete bass lines, in addition keyboards are absent on the self-titled release, relying strictly on the guitar-bass-drum-vocals foundation.

In terms of artistic direction TNA could be labelled as sleaze metal on account their vocalist alone. Jeffrey Harr’s voice is practically identical to that of Motley Crue front man Vince Neil. And though some of the opening riffs make direct reference to the kings of Sleaze metal, the song writing of TNA does not draw on melodic rock or metal. Instead TNA take the classic rock n’ roll sound, inducing a fair amount of blues licks while sleazing-up the whole package to meet the music standards of the time. Indeed most of the songs on TNA are groovy, attitude-filled rockers, a point proven by the song-titles alone, “All Nite Long,” “Bump & Grind” and “Dirty Love” all totally representative of the musical identity of TNA.

On the other hand one finds certain songs on this 12-track collection deviating from the paradigm presented above: “Hard Way” sounds very much like early ‘80s Van Halen with all the Roth-ish swagger and sing-along chorus. “It’s Over” is probably TNA’s most melodic moment, a ballad full of substance that could have easily come out of an XYZ album. “Take a Walk” is the fast-paced slickly-sung power-rocker in the style of Extreme and MR. Big.

Overall TNA is addressed to fans of glam/sleaze metal emphasizing the nostalgic aspect, therefore one has to be a fan of the genre and the particular era to make the most out of this release. Though not quite at the level of the renowned bands of the genre mentioned above, TNA indeed demonstrate a musical personality of their own while delivering a fair amount of enjoyable songs.

Genre: Hard Rock / 80s Hair Metal

Label: http://www.eonianrecords.com/

Band:
1st lineup: Wayne Swinny (g), Eddie Matlock (d), Jeffrey Harr (v), Michael Gumm (b)
2nd lineup: Eddie Matlock (d), Jeffrey Harr (v), Eric Lewis (g), Kelly McDonald (b), Randi-Mike Field (b)

Track List :
1. All Nite Long
2. Bump & Grind
3. Dirty Love
4. Don’t Fade Away
5. Don’t Look Back
6. Hard Way
7. I’m Already Gone
8. It’s Over
9. Just Another Day
10. It Don’t Come Easy
11. Take A Walk
12. You Cried Wolf

Hardrock Haven rating: 6.5/10