Twisted Axis
Self-Titled
7th Street Records
Street: 05.03
Twisted Axis = Kiss + The Who + Hinder + a blender
If Nickelback and Black Sabbath were forced to combine forces, this is the product of that sad, sad scenario. Twisted Axis has a lot of ’70s rock influences, which is all well and good, but there is also a definite early 2000s radio “rock” music direction they tend to lean toward. The vocals are pretty weak, and there’s no real spark in the music, but I can see how people could like it. People who like Seether and Hinder might like this. At their best, they sound like Pink Floyd, but at worst they sound like, I don’t know, just bad. When they have a more ’70s space-rock vibe going on, like in “Wake Up,” they’re not awful—in fact, that’s the best song on the album. In the next song, “Corruption,” they sing, “Dirty, nasty, sexy freaks …” in a voice I never want to hear say those words, let alone together. It makes me feel dirty, like I desperately need to take a shower and get that voice out of my skin. The first seven songs are forgettable, and the last four have a certain charm, whether it be that skeezy 40-year-old-in-the-leather-jacket-without-a-shirt-on-licking-his-mustached-upper-lip-at-17-year-old-girls kind of charm, or actual, not-trying-to-be-charming charm.