Artist: Lizards, The
Label: Hyperspace Records
Release: 2004
Rating: 3.5/5
The Lizards are a band from New York. Unbelievable, because they play the purest-blooded form of classic hard rock, the kind laid down in the seventies by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Free, so nothing but British rock giants, and you can even catch a pinch of Vanilla Fudge. The lineup is bassist and bandleader Randy Pratt, guitarist, producer and author of most of the arrangements Patrick Klein, Mike DiMeo, an excellent vocalist who came over from the legendary American classic heavy metallers Riot, and rock legend Bobby Rondinelli, who put in his time with Black Sabbath, Rainbow and, most recently, Blue Öyster Cult.
The music is tailor-made for everyone who misses the heavy sounds of late-era Black Sabbath with Tony Martin on vocals, with a firm whiff of black blues straight out of the Mississippi delta, which brings The Lizards close to Led Zeppelin in places, at least in the atmosphere of the record. The guitar arrangements often sound like Jimmy Page whispering them into Klein’s ear. The combination of both bands is served up perfectly in the colorful little adventures Take A Ride, Dark Matter and Down! They all wear a double face (an atmospheric, subtler pre-chorus and an explosive chorus), and in Down, for instance, the pre-chorus pulls from the bass line of Dazed And Confused (Led Zeppelin), while in the chorus DiMeo’s vocals go for Tony Martin (Black Sabbath). Did DiMeo bring anything over from Riot besides his voice? Just a tiny bit. The chorus of The Opal Crest Of Zed pulls toward that band in its vocal harmonies. DiMeo has only gotten better as a singer, there are no wobbles at all, he sings every section with the same intensity and builds up a power in them that convinces you you’re dealing with a true hard rock singer, made in this spirit from head to toe. A guy who has found himself exactly in the right place.
The production caught a live “feel”. The guitar riffs are well-crafted, dead simple, built on clear, predictable rock templates, but played with balls, so it’s a real pleasure when they whip through your ears. The bass line is heavy, thick and pulses like it’s wound up tight! Rondinelli is a chapter all his own, and his drums are something you really start paying attention to while listening. Purists would say they’re too loud in the mix. But with Rondinelli that’s a constant, the man is recognizable from a mile away by his raw, thunderous swings across the drum set and cymbals. The fills are devastating, mostly dusted off through the snare drum. Rondinelli has an exceptional sense of improvisation, brilliantly filling out the guitar riffs and transitions with a multicolored palette of all sorts of rolls that lift the dynamics and add a special charge to the whole record. It’s the work of a seasoned old tomcat who enjoys his job 110%. Rondinelli drums with his whole body, and the force he unleashes in the sound crawls convincingly under your skin and fills you with an adrenaline fever. So “Cold Blooded Kings” is a special record on account of his playing alone, even though it’s built on admittedly “well-worn” hard rock templates. But the record has that certain something… Balls! And the chemistry between the guys works wonderfully.
The songs are varied. Especially impressive is the instrumental Hyperspace, which opens with a harmonica and where the guys took their time to indulge themselves. DiMeo handles the keyboards. The interweaving of motifs in Hyperspace is put together as tastefully as it gets, every instrument equally expressive, while the track keeps the tension and dynamics high all the way through. The co-existence of a one-of-a-kind chemistry works phenomenally. For the weight of its steel-plated rolling and its captured gloomy sound, We Are Dinosaurs stands out on the record in particular, as the band unfurls a voluminous, massive sonic rock blanket.
Of course, The Lizards don’t bring anything new. But four oddballs together are special enough to offer a recognizable take on old-school hard rock. This is an album that sounds incredibly fresh, with a real rocker’s charge and an exceptional dose of wit. Much more than just a living relic of the glory days of a distant past.
Lineup
Mike DiMeo – vocals, keyboards
Patrick Klein – guitars
Randy Pratt – bass guitar, harp
Bobby Rondinelli – drums
Production
Patrick Klein & Randy Pratt
Track list
1. The Opal Crest of Zed
2. Cold Blooded Kings
3. Take a Ride
4. Down
5. Rising Star
6. Hyperspace
7. Dark Matter
8. We Are Dinosaurs
9. Magic Cloud
Album length: 45:09
