Here Comes The Flood: Chickenfoot: III

photo: Jon Hill

Assemble a quartet of seasoned veterans in a studio and give them 4 days to cut an album. Let the guitar player bring in a stack of demos, which wont' be used much. Set up the recording equipment, roll tape and end up with 45 minutes of loud neo-classic rawk, touching base with BTO, Keith Richards, Van Halen and all those fist-pumping roadtrip anthems that will get you into trouble with the law for speeding. That's what you get when you put your Big Foot down ...

III is the second album by Chickenfoot, who exploded on the scene in 2009. Michael Anthony (bass), Sammy Hagar (vocals), Joe Satriani (guitar) and Chad Smith (drums) have seen it all. When they released their self-titled debut it looked like another one-off side-project, all in good fun, with a tour, a deluxe edition of the album and a live DVD. The latter proved that there be future for the band - they expanded the songs on stage, just a short look to each other would suffice to take it to another level.

They've have grown and the band sounds deeper and more loose. While fun pertains, lyricist Hagar isn't afraid to take stand. Three an a Half Letters is about people who desperate to get a job to make ends meet and Up Next is an angry songs about mortality. Guitar player Joe Satriani gets the change to channel his heroes and peers, refraining from the virtuoso fireworks of his solo work, rocking out with a big smile on his face. Chad Smith unleashes his inner Bonham and Michael Anthony slaps his bass like there is no tomorrow as well as providing pretty good backing vocals.

The only clunker is Come Closer, s sappy ballad that is so heavy on cliches that it fails to register. Rewind to a song like Alright Alright with a Stones-y riff and you feel much better. With III it look like these guys are in it for the long run. As long they can work around each others busy schedules, changes are that will a real third album within a year or two.

Chickenfoot: III

III is released on on earMusic. UK release date: October 24th. Available CD, limited cd/dvd combo, digital and vinyl. The first run of the Cd and DVD options comes in a 3D-cover, optical enhancers included. The DVD features an EPK, including exclusive interviews with the band and behind-the-scenes footage, the Big Foot and Sexy Little Thing videos, and an live version of Turning Left, recorded live in Phoenix, Arizona (previously released on the Get Your Buzz On Get Your Buzz On “Live” DVD).

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