Review
At its best, Hollywood Monsters — French guitarist/vocalist Steph Honde’s supergroup project — can be as powerful as any hard rock outfit out there ["supergroup," as in Tim Bogert (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus) on bass, Don Airey (Deep Purple, Ozzy, etc.), and Vinnie Appice (Dio, Sabbath, etc.) on drums]. However, on the debut Big Trouble there are moments of mediocrity included. Thankfully there are only three or four of these laggards on the album.
“Village of the Damned” stands out as the monsters at their best, with Honde’s voice giving off a mini-Chris Cornell feel. An excellent track to download for starters.
The most interesting development is “Fuck You All.” Written by Honde and given to ex-Iron Maiden Paul Di’ Anno to sing, “Fuck…” is opportunity for Mr. Wrathchild to show off his punk influences once again.
Honde is on the right path with Hollywood Monsters. Hopefully he can keep the invited geezers on board for awhile, too.
Label: Mausoleum Records (distributed by MVD)
