{"id":24070,"date":"2012-11-23T09:57:28","date_gmt":"2012-11-23T14:57:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=24070"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:40:19","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:40:19","slug":"t-and-n-slave-to-the-empire-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/t-and-n-slave-to-the-empire-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"T&N | Slave to the Empire<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Ron Higgins<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"George Lynch has re-joined Dokken! Well, sort of. George joins fellow Dokken band mates Jeff Pilson and \u201cWild\u201d Mick Brown to form a project known as T&N. Drummer extraordinaire Brian Tichy participates as well. Originally, it was going to be called Tooth and Nail after Dokken\u2019s seminal Platinum-selling second album of the same name. However, due to legal conflicts with the record label of the same name, they had to settle on the shorter acronym. So the question is: Does this album live up to its name? Not quite. But it\u2019s not bad either. <\/p>\n

This project actually began out of the remnants of another failed Dokken reunion. When it was clear that the reunion wasn\u2019t going to happen, Pilson and Lynch began writing songs for the next Lynch Mob record but singer Oni Logan didn\u2019t feel that the songs were right. Brian Tichy laid down some drum tracks and suggested that they should bring in Mick Brown and do a whole album of Dokken covers with guest singers. They did just that and combined some of the Dokken remakes with a number of originals. The result is seven original songs and five remakes (with another seven remakes planned for a Part 2 to be released sometime in 2013, including, according to Lynch, “When Heaven Comes Down,” “Til The Livin\u2019 End” and “Just Got Lucky”). Tichy handles the drums on the originals and \u201cWild\u201d Mick plays on the remakes. The vocals for the originals and one remake are handled superbly by Pilson while the other four remakes feature an impressive list of guest vocalists. Guests include: Tim \u201cRipper\u201d Owens, Doug Pinnick, Sebastian Bach, and Robert Mason. Interestingly, Don was actually approached to sing on the remakes but declined.<\/p>\n

The album blasts off with one of the best songs on the record, the title track \u201cSlave to the Empire.\u201d It\u2019s one of the originals and kicks the album off right into fourth gear. If there are any doubts that this album will have rockin\u2019 without Dokken, fear no more. The second track \u201cSweet Unknown\u201d is a moodier, mellower, more modern sounding song. Not bad but definitely different. Other original tracks include \u201cRhythm of the Soul,\u201d \u201cWhen Eagles Die,\u201d \u201cMind Control,\u201d \u201cJesus Train\u201d and \u201cAccess Denied.\u201d \u201cRhythm of the Soul\u201d is a decent enough mid-tempo song but not terribly memorable. \u201cWhen Eagles Die\u201d is a little more interesting with a nice acoustic guitar intro that leads into Jeff\u2019s capable singing and then George\u2019s incomparable lead work. Clocking in at over six minutes this is approaching prog territory and seems to be one of the more popular new tracks according to early reviews. It\u2019s definitely one of the highlights. \u201cMind Control\u201d is another interesting track. It\u2019s a hard driving song with Jeff channeling his inner Lemme on the growling vocals. It features great guitar work and one of the best leads on offer — certainly an enjoyable listen. Probably the most atypical song is \u201cJesus Train\u201d. This is a cool little bluesy number with all of the guys sounding like they\u2019re having a blast. It starts off with a \u201cHot For Teacher\u201d like bass pedal rhythm and some stellar guitar work. Dokken it certainly is not, but musically it\u2019s a winner. Finally, the album wraps up with another original song, \u201cAccess Denied\u201d. And for those who stuck around long enough to make it to the end of the record, they won\u2019t be disappointed. This is another one of the better originals with lots of double-bass and screaming guitars. It\u2019s nearly seven minutes long and fades out into some string accompaniment that would be right at home on a movie soundtrack, especially a horror film. Nightmare on Elm Street Part 25<\/em>, perhaps? An impressive end to an impressive album.<\/p>\n

What a lot of Dokken fans are going to be most interested in is hearing their new interpretations of the five Dokken classics. They\u2019re all decent but some are naturally better than others. The first one appears as the third track and it\u2019s the band\u2019s namesake \u201cTooth and Nail\u201d featuring Doug Pinnick of King\u2019s X on lead vocals. Musically, it\u2019s actually a little faster than the original but Doug\u2019s unique vocal style somehow makes it sound slower. It definitely gives this classic song a new twist. George is on fire on this one and there\u2019s an interesting breakdown towards the end that invokes visions of David Lee Roth at his talk-singing best. It\u2019s easily one of the best remakes. Next up is \u201cIt\u2019s Not Love\u201d featuring Robert Mason. Musically, it\u2019s not quite as good as the original but the vocals are superb. This song ends up becoming more of a showcase for Robert\u2019s vocals than a reworking of an old classic. After listening to this song, it becomes clear why he was tapped to lead Warrant in their current configuration. \u201cInto the Fire\u201d is the third remake and, like the new songs, features Jeff Pilson on lead vocals. It\u2019s a very faithful remake with maybe a little better guitar-work. This would fall into the \u201cwhy bother\u201d category. It does feature another unusual breakdown at the end which is interesting but other than that you\u2019re better off sticking with the original. At least it shows how competent Jeff\u2019s chops are. The fourth remake is \u201cAlone Again\u201d with Skid Row\u2019s Sebastian Bach on lead. His unmistakable vocals add an interesting element to this classic and his interpretation is respectful. Finally, we have the most unusual remake with Tim \u201cRipper\u201d Owens of Judas Priest\/Iced Earth\/Yngwie Malmsteen fame taking the helm for one of Dokken\u2019s heaviest and best songs, \u201cKiss of Death\u201d. It\u2019s a true re-working of a song and therefore one of the best remakes on the record. It gives the listener a glimpse of what Dokken may have sounded like if they had been a traditional metal band instead of a more melodic metal \u201chair\u201d band. Ripper\u2019s Dio-like wails fit right along with George\u2019s monster shreds. This is definitely one of the album\u2019s best tracks.<\/p>\n

Will this become a classic? Not likely. It is an enjoyable listen though and will certainly be appreciated by Dokken fans. How much traction it gains outside the Dokken fan-base remains to be seen. Whether or not they should\u2019ve mixed original tunes with remakes also remains to be seen. Had they chosen to go with all originals it would\u2019ve given the project more legitimacy as something more than just a side-project. However, having the classic Dokken tunes remade with guest vocalists will undoubtedly pique more interest so it\u2019s understandable why they did it. But since they plan to release a second installment, a better option may have been to release one record with all originals and the other one with all remakes. Black Country Communion has certainly shown that the rock world is willing to listen to new music by classic musicians so an album of all originals wouldn\u2019t be outrageous. <\/p>\n

Although this doesn\u2019t quite live up to the greatness of Dokken at their Tooth and Nail<\/em> or Under Lock and Key<\/em> prime, it\u2019s certainly a respectable release with some enjoyable new songs and interesting remakes. It will certainly please die-hard Dokken fans and given them hope that a full-on reunion may someday still come to fruition. But even if it doesn\u2019t, the prospect of seeing these three musicians tour together again is reason enough to get excited. And with a second release planned for the near future, all fans of Dokken just got lucky.<\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nGeorge Lynch
\nJeff Pilson
\n\u201cWild\u201d Mick Brown
\nBrian Tichy<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tSlave to the Empire
\n2.\tSweet Unknown
\n3.\tTooth and Nail (featuring Doug Pinnick of King\u2019s X)
\n4.\tIt\u2019s Not Love (featuring Robert Mason of Warrant)
\n5.\tRhythm of the Soul
\n6.\tWhen Eagles Die
\n7.\tInto The Fire
\n8.\tAlone Again (featuring Sebastian Bach)
\n9.\tMind Control
\n10.\tKiss of Death (featuring Tim \u201cRipper\u201d Owens)
\n11.\tJesus Train
\n12.\tAccess Denied<\/p>\n

Label: Rat Pak Records<\/p>\n

Websites:
\nhttp:\/\/www.slavetotheempire.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/home.php#!\/pages\/TN\/264254906995701<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 8.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ron Higgins – Columnist — George Lynch has re-joined Dokken! Well, sort of. George joins fellow Dokken band mates Jeff Pilson and \u201cWild\u201d Mick Brown to form a project known as T&N. Drummer extraordinaire […]<\/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":[329,302,69,1103,2491,4782,5315,1398,3283,5999,6147,292],"class_list":{"0":"post-24070","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-dokken","8":"tag-doug-pinnick","9":"tag-george-lynch","10":"tag-hard-rock","11":"tag-heavy-metal","12":"tag-jeff-pilson","13":"tag-rat-pak-records","14":"tag-robert-mason","15":"tag-sebastian-bach","16":"tag-slave-to-the-empire","17":"tag-tn","18":"tag-tim-ripper-owens"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24070","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=24070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24070\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}