MARYA ROXX - review added 10th December 2010
Album Review: Payback Time (2010)
For fans of: Alt Metal... and awesome gravelly female vocalists
"Payback Time" is the debut album from Marya Roxx, so far best known as the one of the members of Vanilla Ninja. However, where Vanilla Ninja was pop/rock/dance act with a European bent...and where Marya was the bassist...this time the sound is grindingly punk-heavy, and Marya adds lead vocalist to her C.V..
The album, has a monstrous pedigree. How does former Anthrax guitarist Paul Crook, Nuclear Assault guitarist Scott Metaxas, and Incantation drummer Jim Roe grab you? If that's not enough, a certain someone called Kevin Shirley (Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Dream Theater, Journey, Slayer and more) produced the LP.
Good:
The vocals are superb - not necessarily from a technical standpoint, but they have bags of character. Marya is one of the most enjoyable singers in this genre right now, male or female. The musicianship is great - not off the scale brilliant - but again ultra charismatic and, at times, massively loud 'n' lairy. The production is as good as you'd expect; all the instruments are there and the vocals are clear, but the record still has it's own identity. "Payback Time" does not in any way sound sterile. Hell no.
Not So Good:
'21?!', 'Oh Yeah', 'Rebel', and 'Nothing Going On' were all featured on Marya's debut EP in 2008, so if you bought that this release may be a tad annoying. Only 6 new songs in 2 years? Not exactly great. Also, the cover art looks like it took about ten minutes to make. The album deserved much more than a photo with a logo chucked on top.
The Songs:
'Time To Run' takes a while to get going, but the chorus is a metal monster. 'Strong' is the best of the new songs, and it really is groovy, heavy and contagious. 'Filth' boasts some fine rhythms, but it isn't that memorable. The slow 'n' steady 'Loverboy' is another track with a brilliantly catchy chorus. The title track is a speedier entry and actually one of the weaker songs. 'Boneyard' does the big chorus, average verse thing, but as a whole it's enjoyable.
The four songs from the EP are all utterly excellent and it's easy to see why they made it onto the full album.
In Summation:
Concerns about the lack of good new songs aside, this is a brilliantly fun album. Boisterous rock doesn't get a lot better than this.
Entertainment/Enjoyment:
Musicianship:
Vocals:
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Overall:
Check out... All of it.
Track List:
01. Time To Run
02. Oh Yeah
03. Strong
04. 21!?
05. Filth
06. Rebel
07. Nothing Going On
08. Loverboy
09. Payback Time
10. Boneyard
Label: Global Music
Artist's website(s): Marya Roxx | MySpace | Facebook
