Revamped and ready to roar; ‘Fraze Gang 2’ was produced by Greg Fraser utilizing Beau Hill for mixing and mastering, with striking results.
Written by: Dangerzone
ARTIST: Fraze Gang
ALBUM: Fraze Gang 2
LABEL: Bongo Beat Records
SERIAL: BB 2032-2
YEAR: 2012
CD INFO: Discogs Info List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
LINEUP: Greg Fraser – lead vocals, guitar * Stevie Skreebs – bass, backing vocals * Phil Epp – drums, backing vocals * Derek McGowan – guitar
TRACK LISTING: 01 Saint Or Sinner * 02 In Your Face * 03 Juggernaut * 04 Never Want To Say Goodbye * 05 White Lightning * 06 Tough Enough * 07 I Just Want To Make Love To You * 08 Don’t Call Us We’ll Call You * 09 This Is It * 10 Rampage
RATING: 80/100
WEBLINKS: NA
Fraze Gang Background
A few things have changed in the years since Fraze Gang’s debut was first introduced. This included adding second guitarist Derek McGowan, brought in to fill out the bands steeped in the ’80s sound.
A wise choice since the first disc seemed rather tepid considering the band’s hard rocking pedigree. Fraze Gang was founded by former Brighton Rock members Stevie Skreebs and Greg Fraser. The latter also did a 1990’s stint in Helix.
Revamped and ready to roar; ‘Fraze Gang 2’ was produced by Greg Fraser utilizing Beau Hill for mixing and mastering, with striking results.
The Songs
With imposing stares on the monochrome front cover; these guys look like they mean business. The tunes are still rooted in the two decades old melodic sound of Judas Priest, Ratt, Y&T and Dokken. They’re filled with hard twists and heavier turns while sounding fairly contemporary.
‘Saint Or Sinner’ opens as a Whitesnake meets Judas Priest metallic rocker. It’s in contrast to the riffy pop metal of ‘In Your Face’. This truly is a very different and musically driven band than what was heard before.
The dual guitars make all the difference and overall the production is more than satisfactory. Although with Beau Hill’s involvement we shouldn’t expect anything less.
A pair of noteworthy covers fill out the disc: firstly Willie Dixon‘s blues classic ‘I Just Want To Make Love to You’. Secondly there’s an even better version of Sugarloaf‘s off-beat 1975 hit ‘Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You’.
Fraze Gang pitch in the Extreme-Mr. Big-Tesla styled acoustic balladry of ‘This Is It’. Then there’s the scorching finale in ‘Rampage’ and you have the real deal. The band not afraid of their origins and bold enough to sound relevant in an increasingly throwaway music scene.
In Summary
Since this release, Brighton Rock have reformed and is playing in their native Canada plus the UK’s 2012 ‘Firefest’. Very nice. Although in light of this album’s quality, it’s hoped Fraze Gang won’t be put on a back burner for too long. .
Fraze Gang on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
