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HOLLYWOOD MONSTERS
Big Trouble

Mausoleum (2014)
Rating: 7/10

I can’t get enough of these hard rock / heavy metal supergroups, and Hollywood Monsters is another beast bursting with talent. From its cover boasting a gargantuan fight between a giant ape and a Tyrannosaurus Rex to the staggering riffs and uptempo vibe, Hollywood Monsters’ debut is a fire-cracker of a record that explodes into the night and illuminates the sky via the talents of California-based French vocalist Steph Honde – who is joined by ex-Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno on track 11 (‘Fuck You All’).

Elsewhere we have drum legend Vinnie Appice – best known for his work with Black Sabbath and Dio – and we can’t overlook bassist Tim Bogert, who has featured for Vanilla Fudge. The guest list just gets more impressive, though. Don Airey – who has played with Deep Purple, Michael Schenker and Whitesnake – is responsible for the Hammond on one track, while other musicians showcased are guitarist Denis Baruta, bassist Olivier Brossard, and drummers Emmanuel Lamic and Laetitia Gondran.

As with many of these sorts of albums, such an influx of talent means that much of what is on offer is going to be very good, and that’s certainly the case with Big Trouble. Airey’s Hammond drenches the driving ‘Move On’ while the riff is killer throughout, and adds extra weight to this swaggering limp of ballsy rock.

Honde has a powerful voice perfect for this sort of rock ’n’ roll; in a sense he has a no frills style, but it’s beefy, hearty and above all he owns the room. Appice is as thunderous as ever as he rattles the skins through the sassy title track, but he’s given a run for his money by Gondran on the sweeping ballad ‘Oh Boy!’, which is one of the finest moments of the album and an unexpected twist to the rockier proceedings.

Elsewhere we have the lightweight patter of ‘The Cage’, the bruising monolith that is ‘Village Of The Damned’ with a Whitesnake-type of edge, and the bonus track ‘Fuck You All’, which has an urban toughness bolstered by Lamic’s hardy percussion.

Big Trouble is quite an unusual little record at times; for every big and bolshie number, there is a more subtle workout featuring unusual arrangements and unpredictable melody. For instance, ‘The Only Way’ is a dreamy trickle that eventually transforms into a molten metal throb, and it’s this number which sums up the content of the album. Although lacking a distinctive hit, Big Trouble is a wholesome clump of rock.

Neil Arnold

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