THE TYRANT LIZARD KINGS – Attack Of The Tyrant Lizard Kings

According to Jeff Foxworthy, and he should know, the definition of a ‘Redneck’ is ‘The Glorious Absence Of Sophistication’… something everybody, at some time in their life, is guilty of personifying. The Tyrant Lizard Kings, however, are probably guilty of this more than most. Their debut album, The Attack Of The Tyrant Lizard Kings, is a balls out, down and dirty piece of Rock music so far removed from being sophisticated that The Tyrants refer to their style as ‘Redneck Rock’ or ‘Hellbilly Rock ‘n’ Roll’. The title of some of the tracks on the album also testify to the Redneck/Hellbilly influences.

With a not so subtle blend of Blues, Bluegrass, Grunge, Stoner, Old School Rock, and Metal, you may think this concoction of styles from all over the musical spectrum would collide like a train wreck. But, these guys have somehow managed to slot it all together to create a unique blend that is guaranteed to get you up out of your seat and ‘Shake your Thang!’

Lead vocalist and bassist Chris Smith has that 100 cigarettes a day, gargles with rusty nails and bleach, kinda voice that could shred your face off if you got too close to your speakers. The phrase ‘Raw Vocal Power’ springs to mind when you hear him let rip. He does have a more clean vocal sound that you can hear in the background now and again, but more in the track “Absinthe Is The Fucking Devil” where he tells you about the visiting green fairies when you drink the stuff; obviously a song borne out of a painful personal experience! His bass playing is more than just keeping the beat. As a three piece, minus a rhythm guitarist, Chris fills that gap with a motor-driven, distorted bass sound that rips your underwear off into the middle of next week.

On guitar, Stu Gordon plays a wide range of techniques and styles; the crunchy, distorted riffage in “Kiss The Whip” and “Black And Red Madonna,” the string-skipping, hammer-on pull-off intros of “I Was A Teenage Monster Truck Enthusiast,” and the wah pedal driven riffs of “The Ballad Of Sheriff John Bunnell.” Stu’s vocals are almost on par with Chris’s, which makes for one hell of vocal package coming at you when they both let rip.

Keeping it all together is tub-thumper Graeme Young. Graeme really has his work cut out … what, with all the timing and rhythm changes that happen throughout most of the tracks. Most noticeable timing and rhythm changes occur in the tracks “Kiss The Whip,” where it goes from a smooth, subtle groove to a raunchy overdriven grind and back; the abrupt halt in the middle of “Black Knives” that slowly, like dragging it’s sound through thick treacle, builds up to a crashing, almost orgasmic, ending, and the stop-start rhythm of “Black And Red Madonna.”

Some albums you can throw on your stereo so you can have some background music while you study, read, watch TV, or whatever other mundane activity you are participating in. There are also some albums that you can listen to where each track sorta melds into the next, where it all becomes some sonic gloop, and before you know it, the album’s finished and you go “Is that it?”

The Attack Of The Tyrant Lizard Kings is none of that. It demands your attention; and if your mind wanders when you’re listening to it, it will reach out from the speakers with an in-bred’s wizened hand to slap you upside the head. But, that won’t happen, as your attention will be truly grabbed from the first note, and at the end, feeling like you’ve been ridden hard and put away wet; you will shakily reach for the replay button.

Track List

1. Kiss The Whip
2. I Was A Teenage Monster Truck Enthusiast
3. Tennessee Women’s Gun Club
4. Going Down In Flames
5. Iron Jawed Angel
6. Black Knives
7. The Ballad Of Sheriff John Bunnell
8. Black And Red Madonna
9. Absinthe Is The Fucking Devil