Boldly Entering A New World

Chroming Rose-New World (1998 Pulse Records)

This CD was my first introduction to the German metallers known as Chroming Rose. I managed to procure a copy of their first single, GGM from a CD I get inside of a magazine I frequently buy (Brave Words And Bloody Knuckles,FTR). One listen and I was somewhat captivated by the pounding rhythms and the fact that in the beginning, I thought lead screamer Tom Reiners sounded a whole lot like Armored Saint-era-John Bush. Soon after that, HardRadio started to pick up on them, playing the disc's lead-off track, Help Me. At that point, I already knew who CR was- just wasn't too familiar with the music at that time. Well, let's just say that changed in one helluva hurry when I finally managed to track this CD down. Listening to bands like this serve as a constant reminder of why I've gone European lately. But enough of the history lesson. Now I'm gonna tell you why you've got to have this slab o'steel in your collection.

The whole experience starts from the second you put in the CD and you hear bassist Harry Steiner leading into the aforementioned Help Me. Let's get something straight- this song smokes from the word go. Tom Reiners shows us his stuff early with soothing vocals that lull you into an almost trance-like state of serenity..that's before guitarist S.C. Wuller and drummer Tino Mende decide to inject a little power into the mix and you hear Tom showin' off his trademark scream. If you're not a big fan of guys singing like they've got a pair of vice-grips on the ol' family jewels, then this not be the album for ya- 'cuz Tom likes to belt out those shrieks whenever he can. He's not as blatantly over-the-top as, say, Jim Gillette (the Nitro dude), but make no mistake about it- he's got power and he sure as hell ain't afraid to show it. But don't go getting the impression that all he does is scream. That's not the case. In fact, when he decides to lower the register a bit, he sounds pretty damn excellent. Case in point- - the song that'll probably turn into the one song that could break this band if those idiots who run the radio stations ever decide to give them a chance. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of ballads in the world, but these guys do it quite well. Problem is, they do too much of it on this album. CR seem to have this formula for their ballads- start off slow, put a real ball-crushin' riff in the middle, and see where it goes from there. One example where they seem to make it work is on track #5, I Died A Little, which deals with the loss of a friend as the result of heroin- touching lyrics thsat drive the point home to ya. But if you want the real reason to get this disc, it's three key tracks..Groove Me, Alert and When The World Cries- these three power rockers on their own make this album worth picking up. Toss in a couple of decently-done ballads, and you've got a band with some serious potential. The CD also has a special CD-ROM track for us computer geeks (actally the video for ) that's worth taking a look at.