A hugely hyped group near the end of 2004, Velvet Revolver is made up of ex-Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff and Matt Sorum, former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland and "the other guy," guitarist Dave Kushner. Hyped as the new "supergroup," Velvet Revolver's debut
Contraband was released to much acclaim and radio & MTV airtime.
The album kicks off with "Sucker Train Blues," a rocking roller coaster that certainly sets the tone for the album - sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll (kind of). The track ,like most of the others, is overproduced, given so much gloss that what would otherwise be a typically sizzling Slash riff is lost in the radio-friendly package. "Do It For The Kids" follows in this vein, as Weiland's distorted and processed voice kicks off with "Went to fast/I'm out of luck/And I don't even give a f***!" Throughout the album, it seems like Weiland is trying to be Axl Rose, rather than giving the kind of heavy, slightly spacey performance that he had with STP.
"Big Machine" might be the most unique track on the record, as the band delves into a sort of post-grunge meets heavy metal condemnation of the, well, big machine. It comes off a bit hypocritical, given how much the band has profited from the big machine's support of them, but it rings slightly of Judas Priest, and is actually a pretty good song. "Illegal i Song" is a bludgeoning, slightly inane rocker with a scream along chorus: "I - Don't - Anymore!" that doesn't seem to make much sense. "Spectacle" is not really that, more a profane update of GNR's "Welcome to the Jungle" with a grungier sound.
The second single, power ballad "Fall to Pieces," is probably the best track on the album, and it's well placed in the middle to break up the constant violence and catch the listener's attention. Overall an impressivly romantic and heartfelt song (surprising given the nature of the album to this point) "Fall to Pieces" makes even more sense after seeing the video - the song is apparently about Scott Weiland's drug problems. Regardless of that, it's a standard power ballad that is simply put together well, and Slash's solos are excellent.
After the brief respite, "Headspace" sounds like a reprise of "Sucker Train Blues," leading into a bit of a change in "Superhuman." More drugs and sex, of course, but a changeup of the beat at least makes the song sound fresher than some of the album. "Set Me Free" is another "Sucker Train" sound-alike - not bad, just the same thing. Things do get shook up a bit on "You Got No Right," an acoustic ballad that would be better as the album's closer. That said, it's a strangely pretty sounding song, although the lyrics don't seem to fit the relatively mellow instrumentation.
The album's first single, "Slither," sounds like a cool metal revival when you hear it on the radio. After 10 other songs, however, it sounds grungier and a little more plodding, but still impressive. A strong rocker with the best, most clever lyrics on the album and excellent guitar work, the song is certainly worth a couple of spins. "Dirty Little Thing" would be too, if you hadn't already heard almost the same song at least three times already on the album. And "Loving the Alien" is sort of a combination of "Fall to Pieces" and "You Got No Right" with self-pitying lyrics and some interesting harmonies. A decent end to the album, although "You Got No Right" would have been better.
Overall, the album is certainly not as underground as the title would suggest, and not varied enough to be a whole album. There's enough material here to make a pretty good EP (although the production, like I said, is overdone), but the songs really tend to get repetitive and begin to blend together by the end. I'd say that if you like commercial metal, this is worth the $10 it might be on sale just for "Slither," "Fall to Pieces," "You Got No Right" and "Loving the Alien," but it's not revolutionary in any sense, and not that hard rocking - three of the four best songs on the album are ballads.
