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On disc: Alice Cooper



- Brutal Planet - Amir Djawadi - 5 stars
- The Eyes Of Alice Cooper - Amir Djawadi - 6 stars
- Along Came A Spider - Claudia Ehrhardt - 9 stars


www.alicecooper.com







Along Came A Spider

Along Came A Spider
(Steamhammer - 2008)


With Along Came A Spider Alice Cooper releases his 25th studio album and he has a long career to look back at. The new album is a concept album about a serial killer called Spider. What baffles the police is that all victims are woven into a silk cocoon and every victim is missing a leg - Spider wants to create his own spider, but things change when he fell in love with his last victim... A serial killer story from the master of shock rock - and it will be interesting to see him perform the new stuff!
It starts with Prologue / I Know Where You Live - a rock tune which sounds a bit like the 70's stuff... More metal is Vengeance Is Mine which is also the first single and was released on the official MySpace first. Great guitar work. The song is closer to the early 90's music of Mr. Furnier. The refrain is catchy and the songs was well-chosen as the first single. With track #3 Wake The Dead he offers a track which has some 60's rock elements... And so Alice Cooper can surprise again. If you think you know Alice Cooper, then he will proof you wrong! With Killed By Love you get a ballad, but it ain't cheese - which would be difficult with this story -, but even if there are more touching ballads, this one has something special. While Salvation starts balladesque, but becomes a real rocker with a catchy hook. Another highlight on Along Came A Spider!
One of my favorites is Catch Me If You Can which would also be a good pick for a single, in my opinion. Anyway, An interesting album which should entertain hard rock and metal fans, at least if you liked some of Alice Cooper's work. And the story is something different which fits like a glove to the shock rocker and will be fun to see on stage!


9 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

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The Eyes Of Alice Cooper

The Eyes Of Alice Cooper
(Eagle Rock - 2003)


These days nobody is counting the numberless releases he did through the years, nor the live shows he did. Alice Cooper is the shock rocker of the 70's and 80's and he's still alive and kicking! Never really took a break. He is still releasing albums frequently and once in awhile comes around on tour. He is able to show newcomers how to rock, even with 50+ years! Personally I had the chance to see Mr. Cooper at festivals as well as on his tours and he is still delivering an energetic show. His latest release is called The Eyes Of Alice Cooper and contains 13 tracks which the master wrote with his pales. Beside the legendary singer are Eric Dover and Ryan Roxie (guitars & backings), Chuck Garric on bass and Eric Singer on drums part of Alice Cooper. The keyboard parts and some effects are done by Teddy Andreadis.
Musically Alice Cooper is following his path and if somebody expected an innovation - anybody really did? - , then he / she will be disappointed. But the fans of the shock rocker won't be disappointed, he presents heavy metal with a slightly modern touch and a fresh sound. Powerful drums, rough guitar riffing and remarkable solos are completed with the unique voice of Alice Cooper. This concept is working for years... Decades. So why should he change it? You could call it the AC/DC-principle. There are bands and also some solo artists who can't develop - or aren't allowed to - while the gross of bands got criticized, if they can't develop, called boring and outmoded. That's life! So, let's accept this and let's enjoy the latest Alice Cooper release. Hopefully there will be more albums and tours in future!


6 stars

Amir Djawadi
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)
 

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Brutal Planet

Brutal Planet
(Spitfire - 2000)


Anyone knows Vincent Furnier?!? Nowadays more will know the name then years ago. If you ask about Alice Cooper, more will know, coz that's the alias of Mr. Furnier. He is known for more then 30 years for his live performances which are special through the visual effects and partly frightened the watchers. In the beginning in 1965 he tried to catch the interest of fans with the usual methods, but had to learn that it didn't worked out. He was looking for something special and so he invented the horror figure and at least with his cameo at Wayne's World he reached cult status. The first hits Alice Cooper had in the 70's and are still known like Elected, No More Mr. Nice Guy and Billion Dollar Babies. The songs School's Out is a classic, not just for metal fans and the motto of many parties.
Surely during the years there were less successful days, but with albums like Raise Your Fist And Yell (1988) and others. Especially the commercially successful release Trash Alice Cooper returned to the top. The success of songs like Poison or Bed Of Nails which gave them the possibility for extensively touring with a partly ill-famed stage show (e.g. he seemed to decaptured himself with a guillotine). I was at the show in Essen, Germany and can recommend to see Alice Cooper live!
Now the brand-new studio album should be in the stores, the last time we heard about the horror grandeur was when he released a Best Of album. Under the topic Brutal World Mr. Cooper presents 11 tracks. Some newcomers give up or fall victim of new trends, but Alice Cooper is a metal institution!!! Some people of that age think about retiring, but he is still rocking and shocking! The idea for this CD is easy to understand, if you watch the TV news, scenes of daily life and human relations. The brutality of the world Alice Cooper put into rocking tunes which didn't lack the energy of the past. Still fresh and up to date he put accents with his unique voice and once in awhile he combines his voice with a female vocal part. Beside a driving drum beat and groovy bass lines there are great guitar riffs and exceptional solos which makes this album a pleasure to listen to.
Alice Cooper at it's best - Still a guarantor for hits and outstanding live performances. Some seems just to get older in their IDs...


5 stars

Amir Djawadi
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)
 

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