Eagles of Death Metal
Peace Love Death Metal
(AntAcidAudio)
First Appeared in The Music Box, July 2004, Volume 11, #7
Written by T.J. Simon
The name is a joke. In fact, Eagles of Death Metal has as little to do with Glen Frey’s old band as it does with morbid, thrashing music. The bait and switch moniker is a gag contrived by singer-guitarist J. Everett Hughes (death metal handle: "J. Devil Huge") and drummer Carlo Von Sexron (death metal handle: "Baby Duck"), although the real inside skinny is that the latter is actually Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age fame. The story is that he and Hughes have been friends since childhood, and the group is their roots-oriented, garage-rock side-project.
Eagles of Death Metal’s debut Peace Love Death Metal is a raucous
outing in the tradition of The White Stripes and North Mississippi Allstars, but
after examining the packaging of the album, it’s clear that the group doesn’t
take itself too seriously. As for the music, it is minimalist rock ’n‘ roll with
little instrumentation other than Homme’s awesome drumming and Hughes’ blazing
guitar. Unfortunately, Hughes’ vocal performance is touch-and-go as he adopts a
Robert Plant-like falsetto on most of the blues-tinged songs. The best original
composition on the disc is Speaking in Tongues, which sounds like an
amped-up Jerry Lee Lewis tune. Other great moments include Miss Alissa
and the Donovan-inspired San Berdoo Sunburn. The album also features a
terrific boogie-woogie cover of Stealers Wheel’s Stuck in the Middle with You, which has been re-christened with the twisted humor Stuck in
the Metal. Even songs with dumb filler lyrics — which applies to most of
them, actually — win over the listener through the sheer exuberance and groovy
joy of Eagles of Death Metal’s un-crowded guitar-plus-drums instrumentation. Granted, the raw
sound of Peace Love Death Metal gives the impression that the band didn’t
spend a ton of time in the studio recording multiple takes of each track, but,
given that most of the 14 songs each last less than three minutes, even the
so-so tunes (Kiss the Devil, Flames Go Higher) never have a chance to
sink the collection. 
½
Of Further Interest...
Eric Clapton - Complete Clapton
Various Artists - Mullets Rock!
Peace Love Death Metal is available from
Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2004 The Music Box