 | Sixx:A.M. Heroin Diaries Soundtrack
3.8
excellent
| Ranking: #112 for 2007 | |
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| | Full Review | Ratings (239) |
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| 4.0 excellent | Dave de Sylvia EMERITUS | March 17th 08 |
It all began with a diary that even its author had forgotten about. Written at the apex of his drug-addicted hell, Nikki Sixx's Heroin Diaries begins with its anti-hero at his lowest ebb, and charts his recovery-ish with brutal honesty and no little amount of dignity. Interspersed with surprisingly eloquent readings from the text, The Heroin Diaries soundtrack is a collection of thirteen radio-primed rock singles, a near-perfect cohesion of Sixx's perfect pop smarts and nose for a classic melody. He's helped by renowned producer/guitarists DJ Ashba and James Michael, the latter adding flawless and understated vocals to his extensive songwriting credits. If 'Dead Man's Ballet' and 'Van Nuys' recall the theatricality of Meat Loaf, singles 'Life Is Beautiful' and 'Accidents May Happen' soar with the weight and genuine intensity befitting the best effort in a decade by three of pop rock's underappreciated geniuses.
2 Bumps | Bump |
| 0.0 | Jom | November 9th 08 |
From December 1986 to December 1987 and in the middle of an intense period of heroin addiction, bassist/songwriter Nikki Sixx somehow willed his way to write in a diary on a near-everyday basis. As a memoir, The Heroin Diaries is a gripping read with Sixx chronicling his "personal Hell" due to his crippling drug problem.
While it does plow through some small bouts of ennui, the soundtrack is absolutely mesmerizing. Along with longtime collaborators James Michael and DJ Ashba, The Heroin Diaries has manifold strengths, especially in terms of the flawless production and captivating songwriting. Lead single "Life Is Beautiful" is nothing short of amazing, with Michael's soaring vocals shed light into Sixx's darker past ("I was waiting for my hearse; what came next was so much worse / It took a funeral to make me feel alive") while coming out with an air of optimism.
The aforementioned example is one of the most appealing traits of the album: Sixx coming to grips with his demons and his struggle to get clean. Throughout, Sixx is distinctly unashamed and unabashedly, brutally honest.
Sections of the memoir are devoted to entire songs ("X-Mas in Hell" starts off the record on a particularly distinct note, "Intermission" is a beautiful segue, and many songs have bits and pieces of the memoir interspersed within as well, such as in "Girl with Golden Eyes" and "Heart Failure").
The rest of the album obviously echoes a similar vibe, but this rock-and-roll album has a flair for accessibility. Its instrumentation is phenomenally solid throughout, and Michael's brilliant vocals make The Heroin Diaries a terrific listen. "Dead Man's Ballet" is an absolute stunner, "Heart Failure" is an aggressive number complete with a bruising main riff, and "Accidents Can Happen" is a somber ballad that also shares that inherent optimism addressed earlier.
I'm not going to say that this is a classic album for everybody, but what makes this such a personal classic album is how incredible the interplay between the memoir (a must-read for any rock-and-roll fan) and album truly is. The motif is a dark and depressing one, but Sixx persevered, and the end result for The Heroin Diaries is that it's one badass record.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 4.5 superb | bobbingforapples | March 17th 08 |
My vote for the best album of 2007. All the songs are beautifully crafted and the lyrics are brutally honest. Nikki seems to have set the bar for most hard rock albums with this tremendous acheivement
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | TheSupernatural | July 10th 12 |
Very memorable and emotional album. It has a little of everything: acoustic ballads, intense rock songs, some radio hits, and commentary throughout. The lyrics fit extremely well and blow most contemporary rock bands out of the water in that category. Van Nuys never gets old.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | Xenorazr | January 19th 10 |
A few missteps aside, The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack manages to be a very stellar album in more ways than not that gives the occasional sign of brilliance and clever songwriting.
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| 4.0 excellent | Parasite | September 23rd 24 |
| 4.5 superb | haley | June 3rd 23 |
| 3.5 great | ariich | January 9th 23 |
| 4.0 excellent | KManoc1 | December 11th 22 |
| 3.5 great | Matty CONTRIBUTOR | June 19th 22 |
| 4.0 excellent | Grungil | November 9th 21 |
| 3.5 great | Harlz | March 30th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | Sowing STAFF | October 15th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | mEyck07 | December 29th 19 |
| 2.5 average | yairfg | July 25th 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | josh | June 10th 19 |
| 3.5 great | Josh F. | November 16th 18 |
| 5.0 classic | Josh | September 23rd 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | Neibery | February 1st 18 |
| 3.5 great | gilly | December 1st 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | jpjpablo | November 20th 16 |
| 3.5 great | vonseux | November 20th 16 |
| 3.5 great | deaad | August 10th 16 |
| 4.5 superb | xtrole | June 13th 16 |
| 3.5 great | Snide | May 14th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | MaggieG | February 19th 16 |
| 2.5 average | 8genre | January 5th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | manu8a | August 11th 15 |
| 2.5 average | tiberk | May 28th 15 |
| 4.0 excellent | Surtur | March 3rd 15 |
| 4.5 superb | kevlier | February 6th 15 |
| 4.0 excellent | Zeg | October 9th 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | AleksiS | February 6th 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | DJNinja | January 21st 14 |
| 3.5 great | oskrr1 | July 31st 13 |
| 1.0 awful | 13km | April 29th 13 |
| 4.4 superb | Simon K. STAFF | January 9th 13 |
| 5.0 classic | Eddy | December 25th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Qwedger | July 31st 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | ANJ45 | May 20th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | zyklzy | April 5th 12 |
| 3.5 great | mcchub | March 24th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | zee28 | March 9th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Eons | November 4th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | sierena | September 30th 11 |
| 3.5 great | Trey STAFF | July 14th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Jumaos | June 20th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Lakes. | February 14th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Narshh | January 23rd 11 |
| 4.5 superb | Leukeh | November 17th 10 |
| 3.5 great | Dars301 | November 15th 10 |
| 3.0 good | tom960 | August 31st 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | CutMan | August 18th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | Yusuf | June 4th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | Bezerk | April 1st 10 |
| 4.5 superb | nvleafs | January 19th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | kubikzz | December 28th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Curse. | December 6th 09 |
| 4.5 superb | sXe1111 | November 25th 09 |
| 5.0 classic | Aesir | November 11th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | malllen | January 12th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | fritz | September 2nd 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | HIUHIU | July 6th 08 |
| 4.5 superb | R3DFx | March 28th 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | greg84 EMERITUS | February 19th 08 |
| 3.5 great | Gabwr1 | December 6th 07 |
| 4.5 superb | Ant0 | November 4th 07 |
| 4.5 superb | Jaims | August 29th 07 |
| 3.5 great | JTV | August 24th 07 |
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