American Dog - Poison Smile CD

First of all, this review is based on the sound of the actual cd. A cd album which is fraggin' unbelievable. I am listening to "Old Dog" right now and how American Dog managed to channel ZZ Top, Brownsville Station, Uncle Ted and Rocks era Aerosmith with their own beer drenched twist is beyond me! This really, really rocks....foot stompin' rocks. If you prefer Budweiser and burgers over microbrew beers and sushi....this one is for you!!
The overall sonic quality and production is really great too. I hear a lot of Martin Birch type production from those classic albums by Deep Purple and Iron Maiden; and, other "old school" albums like Powerage by AC/DC and, like I mentioned previously, Jack Douglas/Rocks era Aerosmith. The guitars form a wall right in your face and you can separate each one of them. The drums are centered perfectly just behind the wall of guitars. The drummer seems to have a simple, grooving John Bonham type approach that fits in well. Hannon's vocals blend in the mix seamlessly....no to low, not too high, just right in there with the guitars.
The bass seem more subtle and deeper...lower frequency than previous albums. Yet when you single it out it is right there in your face like a Joe Frazier left hook.
All the instruments and vocals seem to be separated and mix perfectly
with none overpowering the other.
And then the songs! I love the Motorhead type guitar solo breaks! A lot more bluesy based solos and riffs. The entire album seems to have more of a bar room boogie swagger which I assume anything involving a bar suits this band just fine!
And last but not least.....after listening to the new Cult album "Choice Of Weapon" in all its brickwalled sonic glory for the last week, an album that is just way, way too loud with no Dynamic Range, this album just sounds good. 70's-80's era rock n' roll with 2012 production...if that makes sense. Great job!!
Grade? 8/10