The popular hard rock band, The Dead Daisies released their newest album, Light ‘Em Up on Sept. 6, 2024. This marks the first record to feature former Mötley Crüe lead singer, John Corabi since 2018’s album, Burn It Down. This past summer, the band toured the United States and is currently in Europe to support the effort.
The 10-song, 37-minute record, is a classic Dead Dasieis album. It’s loud, in your face and no hold barred, just the way rock and roll music should be. It’s great to hear Corabi back, it’s been six long years. Throughout the album his voice is excellent and pairs amazingly with the rest of the band’s hard rock sound, he has not missed a beat.
The title track starts the record and introduces listeners with a bang. The build-up from the guitar riffs mixed with the drums adds a feel of excitement as fans are waiting for the rest of the band to kick in. The energy from this song will have fans ready to run a marathon. It’s the perfect tune to get the blood flowing and make listeners feel invincible. I love the added background vocals, the harmonizing adds a great layer of sound to this track.
Track two, “Times Are Changing,” continues the high-octane energy. Like the title track, it’s a straightforward rock and roll song. Fans rarely get hard rock music that’s also top quality. But, luckily for them, they can find it on this record. Drummer Tommy Clufetos delivers a masterclass on drums on this tune. His heavy beats take this song from a good tune to an amazing one. Listeners can feel the heaviness of his drumming through their headphones.
On track three, “I Wanna Be Your Bitch,” the tune opens up with a groovy blues-inspired lick from Doug Aldrich and David Lowy. The repeating guitar riff is heard throughout the tune in between more heavy drum fills from Clufetos and piercing vocals from Corabi. Aldrich’s solo at the two-minute mark is one of many spectacular ones that can be found on this record. The first three songs on this record have lived up to the hype of the album. They’re energetic and are what you would expect from a Dead Daisies record.
One of the first singles off the record, “I’m Gonna Ride,” appears as the fourth song on the record. It opens up with a beautifully chunky bass line from Michael Devin. This tune shows the power of Corabi’s vocals as he belts out the chorus on this track. I like how on this record, the band’s wall of noise is there but the sounds are more balanced, unlike the previous songs where it was gun-ho.
“Back To Zero,” is the heaviest song on the record. This slow crawling tune lasts about four minutes and is a good break in pace on the record. This is the first time that the band is all heard together on background vocals in the chorus. I wish they would do this more often. The call and response sounds great and it fits their style of rock and roll. This tune is a song that you can easily headbang to. In this song, Aldrich performs his best solo yet. For a second it’s flashy, for another second it’s melodic and it’s overall a gorgeous solo that deserved to go on longer than it did.
What separates song eight, “My Way And The Highway,” from the rest of the album are the lyrics. The jumpy lyrics are a fresh listen when compared to the format of some of the other harder songs on the record. The way that Corabi sings this song creates a jump as he hops from one lyric to the next. It creates a lighter feel to another overall heavy tune.
“Love That’ll Never Be” feels like a breath of fresh air. The four-minute ballad is just what this record needed. But, it would have potentially worked better if it was higher up on the tracklist to break up some of the hard rock tunes to create more variety. Some of the electric guitars were replaced by acoustic guitars and keyboards that can be heard in the background. The keyboards and piano add a new, unique sound that was missing throughout the record. It also – like with Kiss songs – helps add a layer with the other instruments and vocals. Listen to Kiss’ “Shout It Out Loud” and you’ll understand what I mean.
The final song opens up with a sleazy slide guitar and a heavy beat on the kick drum from Clufetos. This is one of the strongest songs on the entire record and comes as the caboose on this rock and roll train. The entire groove makes for a fantastic rhythm. The sound is not what I would expect from a Dead Daisies song which is why it’s a favorite on the record. Like with “Love That’ll Never Be,” this song deserves to be higher up on the record and shown more love than the closing song. The slide guitar solo and small jam that carries the tune to the repeating chorus at the end is amazing. Hopefully, the band will play this song during their live sets. It’s the strongest song on the entire record.
For the first time since 2018, Corabi returns to The Dead Daisies with a hard rock punch. This album is a must-listen for any fan of the band or hard rock music. With the new addition of Devin on bass which helps round out the record, the band has made, arguably, their best record since 2015’s Revolución. There is so much to like on this record that fans will want to keep listening to this album over and over again.
Rating:
8/10
Tracklist:
1. Light ‘Em Up
2. Times Are Changing
3. I Wanna Be Your Bitch
4. I’m Gonna Ride
5. Back To Zero
6. Way Back Home
7. Take A Long Line
8. My Way And The Highway
9. Love That’ll Never Be
10. Take My Soul
The Dead Daisies Are:
John Corabi – Vocals
Doug Aldrich – Guitars
Michael Devin – Bass
Tommy Clufetos – Drums
David Lowy. – Guitars
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My love for live music started with my first concert ever, Guns N’ Roses back in 2016. Since then, I’ve been able to capture photos of some amazing artists like Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Ace Frehley, and Post Malone. I am based in New York/New Jersey and go to school in Connecticut majoring in Journalism and I am always looking for the next concert to attend.
