Hard rock is without a doubt one of the most popular genres in heavy music today. A lot of people claim that the golden days for this type of music where back in the 80s and 70's when the term hair band was originally invented and this type of music was under the spotlight of t.v. (MTV mostly) and radio stations. They also claim that most of the big names of this genre that are still around are no more than pure nostalgia acts caching in on their hits and history lacking the ability to offer something new and even when they attempt to do it sounds pale in comparison to the music they created in their days of glory.

There is definitely truth in these words but unless you live under a rock no one can deny that bands like SCORPIONS, DEF LEPPARD, BON JOVI, UFO, GUNS N' ROSES just to mention a few are  still more than capable of attracting huge crowds and doing sold out tours not mention the fact that their still very much alive when it comes to create new music. When the grunge plague died out somewhere between late to mid 90s a new breed of hard rock bands started to come out into the spotlight. This time the barriers and bounds between musical genres became almost invisible and while these new bands draw their influences from the 70s and 80s they weren't shy to mix also and cross to other styles like classic rock, punk, blues and even metalcore. Bands like ALTER BRIDGE, VELVET REVOVLER, MONSTER MAGNET, NICKELBACK met huge success and acceptance from hard rock fans all over the world elevating them from the small local bands to the level of new age hard rock superstars.

And this is where DEFUSE come. Formed in Finland in 2000 with a self titled cd in 2006 under their belt they present us their new offering named "Bangkok Addiction".
A mix betweenGUNS N' ROSES & VELVET REVOLVER style mixed with grunge, stoner and 70s style.

Jani Hyvärinen's vocals have that punkish style along with some of Mike Patton's irony but while there is more than enough of that fuck off attitude they fall short when the songs need a more melodic approach like for example on the song "Done My Time".
The album flows without many surprises and while musicianship is competent enough there isn't that extra something that would make the compositions stand out of the crowd. There is passion and honesty in DEFUSE's playing but hard rock needs strong and catchy hooks just as much as it needs attitude. And unfortunately these guys choruses aren't very catchy and strong.

There are some good moments for example in "Adrift" that will bring ALTER BRIDGE to mind, and the mix of stoner and punk producing a pretty interesting result in "Cross The Line" especially in the main riff and chorus. Another good moment can be found in "Evil Soul" with the main riff sounding dare I say (progressive?) yet at the same time shows off it's 70s roots with the vocals on this one sounding closer to GUNS N' ROSES than ever.

"Melting Sky" is the one that really caught me off guard here showing some great riffs and an equally powerful chorus that bursts with originality and twisted melodies and a surprising fast tempo and solo just before the end. The sound on this album is very organic, drums sound powerful and natural and the slightly distorted bass helps in creating a very vivid rhythm section. Guitars are heavy but they got that "loose" sound that a lot of modern rock bands use now days.

"Bangkok Addiction" is an album that left me with a bitter sweet taste here. Songwriting with a few exceptions is unoriginal and predictable and while there is plenty of that hard rock n' roll party attitude the lack of strong choruses makes the album sound boring and repetitive.