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Smith, Neal: KillSmith Two
Smith, Neal: KillSmith Two
Hard Rock/Heavy Metal
3.75/5.0
Neal Smith Music
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by Craig Hartranft, 11.28.2011
Still kicking it old school is legendary Alice Cooper Group drummer Neal Smith. Recently inducted into the hall of fame with the Cooper crew, Smith returns with his second KillSmith solo project.
Above, Neal Smith accepts induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as Alice Cooper looks on.
Here are 12 songs that blur the lines of hard rock and metal, but also show Smith's proficient drumming and talent for solid song composition. While I could pass on several songs here, Smith and company show their rock chops on 2000 Miles from Detroit, Strip Down, and slap to the face of the mainstream music industry, Kiss My Rock. Owing more than a little to that early time with that auspicious and theatrical other group, Neal offers some creepy material with traditional metal, even doom-like, of Cemetery of the Dead and the dreadful statistics of Death by the Numbers. Yet, against this KillSmith Two also allows for more accessibility, even radio-friendly, play, especially on Die for the Night, a very melodic rocker. All this is conveyed through a minimal production which offers a rough and raw edge to the rock, another valuable old school technique.
Neal Smith's KillSmith Two offers both the grit and edge of early classic American hard rock, the foundation for which much of today's rock is dependent. Recommended.
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In Short
Neal Smith's KillSmith Two offers both the grit and edge of early classic American hard rock, the foundation for which much of today's rock is dependent. Recommended.
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