{"id":22176,"date":"2012-09-16T06:19:42","date_gmt":"2012-09-16T11:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=22176"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:26:20","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:26:20","slug":"meldrum-lifer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/meldrum-lifer\/","title":{"rendered":"Meldrum | Lifer<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Steve Patrick<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"MeldrumAnyone familiar with the band Meldrum is most likely also aware of the untimely demise of the band\u2019s namesake and founder, guitarist Michelle Meldrum. The driving force of the band unexpectedly past away from a cystic growth that restricted blood flow to her brain in 2008. <\/p>\n

At that tragic point, Michelle had been working closely with legendary drummer, band mate and longtime friend Gene Hoglan (Strapping Young Lad), on Meldrum\u2019s highly anticipated third full length album Lifer<\/em>. The songs were all written and ready for final cuts, but, due to the unexpected circumstances, Michelle\u2019s guitar tracks were never actually laid down for Lifer<\/em>. <\/p>\n

The surviving members of Meldrum (Hoglan, Laura Christine, and Michelle Madden) decided to soldier on and complete the unfinished album in tribute to their fallen comrade. Lifer has had a long and difficult birth, but the album will finally be released in the fall of 2012 on Reversed Records. Laura Christine faithfully performs Michelle\u2019s guitar parts on this album based presumably on preserved demos.<\/p>\n

It is important to note that Lifer<\/em> is the first Meldrum album to feature Christine and Madden. Michelle Meldrum had an impressive talent of finding some truly unique female metal singers. A previous incarnation of Meldrum featured leather-clad, big-chested, pirate banshee Moa Holmsten on vocals and released two albums with her at the mic. <\/p>\n

Holmsten\u2019s replacement is Australian vocalist Michelle Madden who exhibits an impressive range between clean vocals and growls. Madden is not only a solid replacement for Holmsten, but her performance elevates the band\u2019s music to a place that it had never been prior. <\/p>\n

Christine\u2019s performance on bass, rhythm and lead guitars is definitely commendable. Michelle Meldrum was known for monster riffs in all her projects and thankfully Christine\u2019s skills on the fretboard were able to deliver the monster riffs on tracks like \u201cBlackened Blue\u201d or \u201cWalking Point.\u201d Wherever Michelle Meldrum is, she\u2019s pleased with Christine\u2019s guitar efforts on Lifer<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There are very few weak moments on the album. The lyrics of \u201cMoney Shot\u201d are just absurd. Whoever thought it was a good idea to rhyme \u201cHemi\u201d with \u201cLemmy\u201d could have benefited from some constructive editing advice. Also, while this is a metal album, it is also advertised as a tribute to the life of Michelle Meldrum so I thought the decision to open the album with Madden spelling the word \u201ccunt\u201d was a less than somber choice.<\/p>\n

Hoglan\u2019s drumming is impeccable and lives up to his \u201cAtomic Clock\u201d status. Most of all, Hoglan\u2019s tireless pursuit to get this album released is the real success story here. Lifer\u2019s<\/em> 2012 release has been over four years in the making and Hoglan has been flying the flag for the band and album ever since Michelle\u2019s passing. Also, fans of Meldrum will be benefiting a good cause when purchasing Lifer. Partial proceeds from the album will go to benefit Michelle Meldrum\u2019s young son Jake Thomas. So despite some silly moments, Lifer<\/em> is a fitting tribute to a talented musician who was taken too soon and is worth checking out. You get a great album and will help someone in need which is the definition of a win\/win situation.<\/p>\n

Genre: Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Meldrum is:
\nMichelle Madden – Vocals
\nLaura Christine – Guitars\/bass
\nGene Hoglan – Drums<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. A Toast to Romance
\n2. Blackened Blue
\n3. Paid
\n4. Money Shot
\n5. \u201868 Blonde
\n6. Walking Point
\n7. Inamorata
\n8. Home
\n9. Mayhem
\n10. Greenlee<\/p>\n

Label: Reversed Records<\/p>\n

Facebook: www.facebook.com\/MeldrumOfficial<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Steve Patrick – Columnist — Anyone familiar with the band Meldrum is most likely also aware of the untimely demise of the band\u2019s namesake and founder, guitarist Michelle Meldrum. The driving force of the […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[886,2491,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-22176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-gene-hoglan","8":"tag-heavy-metal","9":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22176\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}