Man-Raze – Surreal
VH Classic Records
www.manraze.com
Rating: B+
Before hitting the big
time with Def Leppard, guitarist Phil Collen was a
member of glam rock band Girl with bass player Simon
Laffy. Phil never forgot his friend despite achieving
fame and fortune with Def Lep. Now, twenty-five years
later Phil has teamed up with his former band mate and
released the album Surreal. A chance meeting on
the street with Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook sealed the
deal and a band was born. Man-Raze is not a Phil Collen
solo album or a solo project. Man-Raze is a true band and
will tour during Def Lep’s
downtime.
What makes this album
so damn cool is the melding of punk, hard rock,
glam rock and pop music. You get the Pistols hard core
grind with Girls glam flair and Def Leppard’s harmonies.
Collen mans the microphone for the vocals and proves he
actually has better pipes than the guy who sings for his
day job. His guitar playing is strong as well.
Man-Raze
visits all their influences on the album. "This Is"
brings a punk crash to open the album while "Turn It Up"
rocks out with harmony and a killer solo. The band then
take a left turn with the Clash styled "Runnin’ Me Up."
"Skin Crawl" is a perfect combination of all that
Man-Raze stands for.
In the end, Surreal,
succeeds on all levels. Vocally, Collen is outstanding
and one wonders why he waited so long to step outside of
Leppard’s shadow. Musically, the band show they are on
a mission to prove themselves. There is no resting on
ones laurels or expecting success to come easy due to
past fame in other bands. Man-Raze are their own entity
and they have released a hard rock record that
celebrates music in a unique way. The album is released
on VH Classic Records so perhaps they will put their
money where their mouth is and promote the band and get
the word out that there is a new rock band worth getting
excited about.
– Jeb Wright
