For a band who has been known as a hair metal act for over 25 years now, it would be a real shock to think that they might change their ways but for all the cheesy music mixed in with the very good heavy metal in their past you have to give them credit as they seem to have had enough of that and decided to put a little grit into the mix this time around. The result is an album that in my humble opinion is their best by far and one that grows on me with each play. With the resurgence of so many bands of this era, this is one of the few times that I have been impressed by the new output compared with their past catalog.
There is no mistaking that this disc has a quite a bit of the 80's style hair metal to it but that is not a bad thing in this case. Y & T manage to remind you of the good music that came from this time period while also giving their most powerful performance to date. Y & T brings a strong dose of arena rock back to the masses.
Playing like a stage production complete with an introduction that although a bit cheesy serves its purpose as you are prepared for the blast of melodic heavy metal that follows. Dave Meniketti has never sounded so good and his underrated guitar work is highlighted throughout this disc so…"On With The Show"!
As they move from one anthem rocker to the next, this is such a great blast of good old heavy metal that it is not more than a few plays before you are singing along and delivering those fantastic licks on the air guitar. From the slow grinding "How Long" to the churning rocker "Shine On" and also from the heaviest moments like "I Want Your Money" to the power ballad "If You Want Me" these guys bring out the whole arsenal of heavy metal weapons to defend what is an almost lost art form. They even lean toward a bit of swamp rock with the hilarious ode to self pleasure "Gonna Go Blind". This disc will have you scrambling for those old Whitesnake, Slaughter, Skid Row and Winger disc that have sat idle for way too long.
Y & T never reached the status of others that followed in their footsteps and it is really a shame as they were known more for the lighter sound of the band than the heavy metal beasts the dwelled inside. With the release of this disc that is more metal than they have ever shown on one album maybe folks will give them another look and see what kind of great stuff resides in their back catalog too. Fans of great guitar work will find Dave's playing on this new disc some of his best stuff ever. This one is definitely worth a look and will grow on you with each play. Y & T stands for yesterday & today, with the release of Facemelter they prove that they are a band that lives up to their name!
There are a couple of bonus tracks that are available on different county editions or as digital download. They are worth the effort to get them. You won't get too much of this album. It is just a lot of fun and a new and refreshing look to the past.
Track listing:
1. Prelude/On With the Show
2. On With The Show
3. How Long
4. Shine On
5. I Want Your Money
6. Wild Child
7. I'm Coming Home
8. If You Want Me
9. Hot Shot
10. Blind Patriot
11. Gonna Go Blind
12. Don't Bring Me Down
13. Losing My Mind (Bonus Track Europe)
14. Deadly Deceiver (Bonus Track Japan)
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