Loaded features Duff McKagan of
Guns N' Roses fame playing guitar and singing lead. After GN'R Duff had a short-lived career in Neurotic Outsiders with prominent players Matt Sorum and Steve Jones from Sex Pistols.
Loaded was formed, when Duff moved back to his birthplace Seattle after living in
Los Angeles during the GN'R years. He teamed up with drummer Geoff Reading, guitarist Dave Kushner and bass player G. Stuart Dahlquist.
The first single off the "Dark Days" deals with Duff's aforementioned move from
Los Angeles to Seattle.
SeattleHead has lines like "
Los Angeles you are a fucking whore" and "
Los Angeles you thought you could kill me". Basically the lyrics deal with the town, where everything is fake. The music for
SeattleHead is as hard hitting as the lyrics.
SeattleHead proves that Duff has maintained his punk roots.
Album highlight is the great
Wrap my Arms. An underlying guitar creates a great emotion for the verse and the chorus is typical Duff with his passionate voice.
The ballad
Dark Days is another highlight, which keeps growing.
Dark Days is very atmospheric and an indicator of the album, since the album is a bit more laid back than "Believe in Me". "Dark Days" is mellow atmospheric Rock music, where Duff' background as punk rocker pops up once in a while.
Overall the album is mellow mid-tempo rock with a few ballads. Especially the sound of the guitar creates an emotion throughout the whole record.
Loaded has a grain of Nu-breed, which actually fits a song like
Queen Joanasophina perfectly.
Some songs lack great hooklines and the song structures are very similar with a mid-tempo/mellow verse, which speeds up for the chorus.
Misery,
Criminal and
Shallow are all build around the same formula.
Criminal is a great track, but it lacks the final touch to capture the listener 100 percent.
A little more variation and more up-tempo tracks would have improved the overall impression of "Dark Days". A few guitar solos would have spiced the record also.
The production is great. Duff voice and appearance oozes attitude, which transfers to the music.
Loaded's music keeps a loose energy but it's wrapped up in a great sound.
"Dark Days" is not as strong as Duff's first solo effort "Believe in Me", but still the record is highly enjoyable with the likeable Duff as center of the record.
Written by
Michael Tuesday, September 23, 2003
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