Beasto Blanco is Chuck Garrick’s band that started really as a side project back in 2013 with the release of a really good debut album. Chuck is of course Alice Cooper’s bassist and in this band we get to see, also, Alice’s daughter, Calico…so, the whole thing has an additional interest, right?
For those of you out there who haven’t listened a single note by Beasto Blanco, just imagine something in between Rob Zombie and Motorhead. Meaning that we are treated with many modern groovy stuff which are wonderfully blended with an old school rock n’ roll aesthetic. And if the debut album was somehow reserved, this time the guys present a more “in your face”, aggressive and raw sonic power but at the same time they seem somehow more mature and rejuvenated from a compositional standpoint. Confused…? Not really! Just take a good listen to “Buried Angels” and “Grind”, the two best cuts on the album which are more or less a tribute to Zombie’s music legacy. The production is both pristine and edgy and up until the first half of the record, things are going into a breakneck speed and the result is stellar.
The second half of the album is a little bit inferior to the first six songs but not at a point where you find yourself dismissing the album whatsoever…not at all. But it would be ideal if Beasto Blanco retained the same compositional level (as the first six songs) throughout the record.
Nevertheless, I highly recommend them! I am sure that you will find them more than interesting and this self-titled album will stay in your CD player/i-Pod/turntable (you name it) for a long time.
Highlight: The cover version of “Feed My Frankenstein” starts as a Johnny Cash outtake and then it is transformed into a Rob Zombie meets Type O Negative juggernaut…awesome!