Racer X - Superheroes


Year of Release: 2001
Label: Mascot Records
Catalog Number: #
Format: CD
Total Time: 51:22:00

The legendary reunion of Racer X in 2000 with the album Technical Difficulties was exciting to say the least. To prove the continuation of the band, Racer X have now released a follow up album.

Superheroes is the title of the album and once again the original cast of the 1987 release Second Heat enters the stage. At the time, Bruce Bouillet was the second guitar player in the band and he is the only one not playing in the new line-up, although he had the pleasure of mixing the same.

If we disregard the '88 release Extreme Volume I with a slightly different line-up, we could say Racer X has continued from where they left off. When compared to Technical Difficulties, Superheroes is a heavier, braver release and the songs seem a lot closer to the Second Heat-era as their 2000 release. Only a few more modern songs and the sound quality hint that the album has been recorded in the year 2001. Most of the material does move in the true heavy metal region with lots of groove orientated songs supported with awesome shredding by Paul Gilbert with foot-tapping rhythms. As mentioned earlier, Superheroes has a couple of modern tracks where stoner meets psychotic metal that do not meet my approval, yet the rest of the album is very evenly divided and provides for some great listening. Racer X lets Paul Gilbert rip on two instrumentals that are just heavenly but overall he was able to contain his needs and only shreds away in the solo-sections of the individual songs (check out Paul Gilbert's solo material, Alligator Farm).

Looking at the band photos on the cover and booklet, it is very clear that these blokes don't take themselves too seriously and that is just what the album sounds like. Racer X is music for fun.

[This review originally appeared November 2002 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]


Tracklisting:
Superheroes / Let The Spirit Fly / Godzilla / Dead Man's Shoes / King Of Monsters / Mad At The World / Evil Joe / That Hormone Thing / Viking Kong / Time Before The Sun / O.H.B.

Musicians:
Jeff Martin - vocals
Paul Gilbert - guitars
John Alderete - bass
Scott Travis - drums

Discography:
Street Lethal (1986)
Second Heat (1987)
Extreme Volume 1 (1988)
Extreme Volume II (1992)
Technical Difficulties (2000)
Superheroes (2001)
Snowball Of Doom (2002)
Getting Heavier (2002)
Snowball Of Doom 2 (2002)

Genre: Other

Origin US

Added: January 31st 2005
Reviewer: Peter Fundeis
Score:
Artist website: www.racerxband.com
Hits: 2770
Language: english

  

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