Talisman - Humanimal (1994)

This is the sort of bubblegum metal that died out in the '90s, and yet appealed to European and Japanese audiences. It's also the kind of album that showcases more talent in one testicle than what Slipknot could produce in an entire career. Sure, the sound here is like a layered mix of Kiss, Extreme, Van Halen and a lot of late '80s hair rock, but Talisman aren't justa flash in the pan -s everal albums and side projects down the line, these guys are still selling records. Fronted by the journeyman Jeff Scott Soto - one only has to give this melodic record one spin to hear the well oiled cogs in motion. This is heavy rock with pop influences, typically hair metal to some, but so much more once you peel back the layers. The vocals are meaty, the guitars of Akesson and Lahti are meaty, and behind them sits the bass of founder member Marcel Jacob and tidy drums of Borger coupled with some keyboard injections. The band provide catchy hooks, particularly in the form of the upbeat and commercial sounding 'My Best Friends Girl' but again, there are so many more layers to this record, check out the clever lyrics of the title cut with its hard guiatrs and weighty drums. This is not mere pompous no brained metal, far from it, this is wonderfully lush, at times sugary, but always top notch heavy rock. Soto displays a huge amount of soul in his vocals, coming to the fore on subtle ballad 'Since You've Gone' which would've got the lighters waving if they'd toured this record. Epic track on the album, and one which proves the diversity of the band is the funky strut of 'Colour My XTC' where Marcel's (R.I.P.) bass really showcases itself with that bubbly groove. This reminds me of Extreme in the sense that if effortlessly combines a variety of musical styles, whether in the form of heavy metal or poppy rock or even choppy funk. 'Humaninal' is a sweet record by a band who've consistently churned out top quality records, even if they are much ignored in most countries. 7.5/10