Friday 2 January 2015

Castle Blak - Another Dark Carnival (1987)

Coming just a year after the half-decent debut 'Babes in Toyland' (see review); these U.S. glamsters still don't have the bite of early Crue even though the vocals have that sort of playful Vince Neil-styled whine. This opus comes across as a rather tepid glam rock plodder that I so desperately want to love but can only like in segments; particularly with the poppy title tune and the more engaging drive of 'Fire' but it just lacks an overall attitude and controversial sneer to really get under your skin. None of the instruments stand out as a major force and so the result with this sophomore effort is a band that sounds like so many others at the time...caught somewhere between Crue circa 'Shout...' and 'Theatre'.
6.5/10

No comments: