“Not Here to Play” By The Angeles Review
Hej America!
Today my friends at Bongo Boy
sent me a single to review. The song is
called Not Here to Play and the band is
known as ANGELES. Before I even read
the bio about these guys I cued up the
sound file and looked at their press photo.
To say that I felt as though I had stepped
into a time machine is an understatement.
These guys look like a cross between
Mötley Crüe and Black Sabbath circa
1982, when Dio was singing for Sabbath.
Why does this matter at all? Because,
Rock and Roll is performance art. A
band’s look is sometimes as important as
a band’s sound. Who thinks of Alice
Cooper without thinking of that snake?
Who thinks of Ozzy without thinking of
that bat? ANGELES have a definite sec-
ond generation classic rock look about
them.
Then I hit play on my music player and BOOM
I was back in 1982. These guys have the same sound
that blasted through the high school smoking area as
various substances were smoked. (Yes, kids a long time
ago students were allowed to smoke in school, but only
in a designated area which descended into a decadent
hedonistic party every lunch hour.) Arguments would
break out over who was king, Randy Rhoads or AN-
GELES would have fit right in. This song is loud, fea-
tures a blistering guitar solo and a heavy hook reminis-
cent of the early 80s hard rock. I would be stunned if
their drummer didn’t spin his sticks.